THE PLAN TO ENSURE THAT LEGISLATIVE MAPS ARE TRULY FAIR AND EQUITABLE

Just as the census is meant to count every single person, redistricting is meant to make every person count by providing for equal representation. Our efforts to ensure a fair and accurate count in 2020 improved the census data underlying the redistricting process, but the historical reality is that more accurate data will not translate to fair and accurate representation unless we demand it.

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission (LRC) is the state government body that oversees the formal process and makes the decision as to which set of maps – out of the thousands of possible maps given any particular set of criteria – to adopt. The LRC is composed of the Senate and House majority and minority leaders, and a fifth member who is either agreed upon by all four members or appointed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

These party leaders have traditionally favored maps that maximize incumbency protection, which in turn cements their power among existing party members. Meanwhile, redistricting advocates typically urge leaders to use map-drawing criteria such as compactness or contiguity. 

None of these options take into consideration how communities see themselves, nor do they consider how communities might be growing beyond existing boundary lines. The end result is that communities of color tend to be split between multiple districts, diluting their powerd diminishing their voices in elections.

The unfortunate reality is that communities of color have been systematically disenfranchised, not only because these communities have a history of being undercounted by the Census Bureau, but also because decision makers and advocates are overwhelmingly not from those communities themselves and are therefore not champions of their interests.

With 97+ Keystone Counts coalition organizations emphasizing the importance of a fair and accurate census count in Pennsylvania, we will build on that outreach to emphasize the importance of fair representation through redistricting.