Berks Barrister Winter 2018 - 10

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Why is Everyone Talking About Gerrymandering?
Continued from page 9
Batdorf Lecture on Gerrymandering
The annual Batdorf Lecture, sponsored by the Berks County
Bar Association and hosted by Alvernia University's O'Pake
Institute for Ethics, Leadership & Public Service, is set for
February 28, beginning at 4:00 pm in the
Francis Hall Theater.
An esteemed panel will discuss the issue of
gerrymandering, and those in attendance will be invited to
engage in the Draw the Lines competition.
The Pennsylvania Constitution provides for state house and
senate redistricting to be accomplished by a reapportionment
commission consisting of five legislators, two each from the
majority and the minority party with the fifth member, the
chairperson, to be selected by the four members.7 If the four are
unable to agree on the fifth member, which has historically been
the case, a majority of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court appoints
the fifth member. The fifth member tilts the balance in favor of
one party or the other, and the gerrymandering begins.
As lawyers, we are trained to look for and to avoid conflicts
of interest. Shouldn't legislators do the same? Drawing the
boundaries of their own districts, choosing the people they want to
vote for them, is a clear conflict of interest. Voters should choose
their legislators, not the other way around. The good news is that
there is something we can do about this problem.

How to Solve the Gerrymandering Problem
A bipartisan group of Pennsylvania legislators is seeking to
reform this broken system. Senate Bill 22, introduced by Senators
Lisa Boscola (D) and Mario Scavello (R) and co-sponsored
by 11 other senators, and House Bill 722, introduced by Steve
Samuelson (D) and Eric Roe (R) and co-sponsored by 97 other
representatives, would put redistricting into the hands of an
independent citizens commission that would draw the district
boundaries in an open and fair manner. The commission would
be composed of 11 willing citizens randomly chosen from a
vetted pool of registered voters, four of whom are registered with
the largest political party, four of whom are registered with the
second-largest party, and three of whom are unaffiliated with
either of the largest political parties.
The process for redistricting would be transparent, with
opportunity for public input, and the commission would not be
permitted to consider prior election results, the party affiliations
of voters or the addresses of any individual. Wherever possible,
communities of interest would be kept together within a district.
District shapes would be normalized.
It seems eminently reasonable for districts to be drawn to
respect the boundaries of counties and townships, to require our
legislators to come from within our community, understanding our
problems, listening to our viewpoints and being held accountable
when they fail to do so.

Time is Critical
To accomplish these common-sense reforms, the
Pennsylvania Constitution must be amended. In order to do so,
a bill establishing the citizens commission must pass both the
Pennsylvania House and the Senate in two consecutive legislative
sessions and then be approved by voters. Both SB22 and HB722
have been introduced and referred to committee. Each is bottled
up in committee where the committee chairs are refusing to
schedule any action to move the bills forward. Time is of the
essence as the decennial census, and hence redistricting, is only a
few short years away.

What You Can Do to Help
It is possible that favorable outcomes in the court cases, listed
beginning on the next page, may have some effect on limiting
gerrymandering in the next round of redistricting, but that is
speculative. Taking conflicted and self-interested legislators out
of the process and putting redistricting into the hands of a vetted
citizens commission is the surest way to end discriminatory
gerrymandering. The citizens' commission would be required
to draw the lines in a transparent manner, with public input,
and without the use of augmented voter data and voter sorting
software.
As lawyers, we are well-positioned to advocate for passage of
redistricting reform by getting involved in the process, making our
views known to our legislators and spreading the word about this
crucial issue. Tired of partisan extremism and bickering? Don't just
complain, get involved! Redistricting reform, a bipartisan cause, is
a vitally important first step to ending the fanatical partisanship
that has gripped our state and country and created virtual gridlock
in our legislatures. Our democratic system deserves better. It is
time to return the power to the people of the Commonwealth and
to make our political system, once again, the envy of the world.
Theresa Martin Golding, Esquire, is with the Bucks County
law firm of Curtin & Heefner, LLP, and is a volunteer with
Fair Districts PA, a non-partisan, all-volunteer citizens group
which advocates for a fair and impartial redistricting process
in Pennsylvania. She was recently named by The Bucks
County Herald as a "Lawyer with a Cool Second Gig" since, in
addition to having a busy practice in the areas of commercial
law, creditors' rights, bankruptcy and banking law, she has
authored four coming-of-age novels, two picture books and
(as ghostwriter) four mystery novels in the Boxcar Children
series. She is a frequent speaker on writing at
schools, universities and community organizations.

Section 17 of Article II of the Constitution of Pennsylvania.

7

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Berks Barrister Winter 2018

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