Pa. won't join new redistricting push
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Last week's Supreme Court ruling weakening the Voting Rights Act is causing some previously skeptical Democrats to reconsider partisan gerrymanders this election cycle, but not in Pennsylvania.
Why it matters: This new energy could put a new crop of blue and even purple states on the board as potential redistricting targets ahead of 2028, according to more than 20 federal and state Democratic lawmakers who spoke to Axios.
- Even some legislators who previously resisted redistricting in their states appear to be warming up to the idea in the aftermath of Wednesday's ruling.
Yes, but: Pennsylvania isn't joining this group of newly fired-up Dems for a myriad of reasons.
- "Anyone seeking a map, seeking a gerrymander, would have a real problem in our state Constitution," U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Philadelphia) told Axios, citing restrictions on splitting up counties, municipalities and even boroughs.
- The state Supreme Court threw out a GOP-drawn map in 2018 under those guidelines and most of those judges are still on the court, Boyle said, "so I'm very skeptical ... a Democratic trifecta could push through a gerrymander."
What they're saying: "We will have a national referendum on the chaos, cruelty, and corruption of Donald Trump and his enablers this November," Manuel Bonder, a spokesperson for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, told Axios when asked about the possibility of mid-decade redistricting.
- "The governor is focused on winning up and down the ballot and electing leaders who will take action to protect our democracy and pass a new Voting Rights Act and national anti-gerrymandering legislation."
Between the lines: Even if Shapiro were to change his mind, the state Legislature would need to pass new maps through the state House and state Senate.
- That's unlikely because Democrats control the state House and Republicans the state Senate, one of just four states with a divided assembly.
- State Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana County) told Spotlight PA last year that "the realities of divided government make this a non-issue."
The other side: President Trump has cheered on Republican-controlled states, like Tennessee, that have moved to redraw their districts following the weakening of the VRA.
- State Treasurer and Republican gubernatorial candidate Stacy Garrity did not respond to questions about whether she supported redistricting in Pennsylvania.
The bottom line: Pennsylvania maps are locked in for a while.