League of Women Voters Files Pennsylvania Redistricting Lawsuit

Plaintiffs say case is about “one of the greatest threats to American democracy”

Posted Jun 15, 2017 4:55 PM—Roll Call

Bridget Bowman (@Bridget Bowman)

The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that the Keystone State’s congressional map was illegally drawn.

“This case is about one of the greatest threats to American democracy today: partisan gerrymandering,” the plaintiffs, which include the group and several voters, wrote in their complaint.

The plaintiffs allege that the Pennsylvania legislature’s Republican majority drew the congressional map to benefit the GOP by packing Democrats into five congressional districts, and spreading them out among the remaining districts. Republicans currently hold 13 of the state’s 18 U.S. House seats.

In the complaint filed in the state’s Commonwealth Court, the plaintiffs cite a Brennan Center for Justice report that said the Pennsylvania map was one of the “extreme” cases of partisan gerrymandering.

As an example, they point to 2012 when Republicans won 49 percent of the statewide congressional vote, but took 72 percent of the congressional seats (13 out of 18).

Read more at http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/league-of-women-voters-files-pa-redistricting-lawsuit.

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