June 16, 2018
The Reading Eagle | Associated Press
It’s hard to stomach the twists and turns in the effort to change the way Pennsylvania’s congressional and state legislative districts are drawn. The latest development, a last-minute Republican amendment calling for a change in the way state appellate court judges are elected, angered Democrats and led many of redistricting reform’s staunchest advocates to drop their support of legislation they had championed.
June 15, 2018
By Stacy M. Brown | Philadelphia Tribune
Philadelphia-area state Sens. Anthony Williams and Vincent Hughes led a chorus of Democrats expressing outrage this week over the Republican-led Senate’s redistricting overhaul, which would include Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth court districts.
Under the bill, which House members were expected to receive Wednesday, state appellate judges would be elected by district, rather than statewide, and a citizens commission would draw the state’s congressional and legislative districts
June 15, 2018
Philly.com | By The Inquirer Editorial Board
Harrisburg Republicans are acting like tyrants, using every legislative trick they can to undermine bills that would give voters the power to elect their own representatives.
They must know that if gerrymandering reform bills make it through the legislature, they’ll lose their power to fix elections. The reform bills would create an independent citizens commission that would balance legislative districts so that our representatives would have to listen to diverse views from a broader array of constituents.
June 14, 2018
By John Finnerty | Meadville Tribune
HARRISBURG — The state Senate on Wednesday voted 35-14 to approve a plan that would allow voters to decide whether to redo the way the state develops the maps used for elections of state and federal lawmakers and state appeals court judges.
