Reapportionment commission promises fairness
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HARRISBURG -- The Legislative Reapportionment Commission hopes to have a preliminary map of the 253 redrawn legislative districts ready for public review by late September.
The five-member panel, chaired by Senior Superior Court Judge Stephen McEwen, held its first meeting today. Its executive director, Charles O'Connor, a Superior Court administrator, said population data from the 2010 census should be available in June, and the preliminary map would be ready 90 days after that.
The redrawing of the 203 House and 50 Senate district lines is done every 10 years to reflect population changes. The districts are to be as equal in population as possible.
Judge McEwen pledged the panel would do the best it could to achieve the "maxim for electoral equality - one man, one vote. A genuine sense of fairness will be the hallmark of this commission."
In the past there have been charges of gerrymandering districts to include areas where an incumbent is popular.
Once the preliminary redistricting plan is ready, public hearings will be held.
Sixty days after the preliminary map is released, a final map will be adopted. Any critics who don't like the redistricting plan then have 30 days to file objections and the state Supreme Court will rule. That decision is needed by January, to give political candidates a chance to file for election in the 2012 spring primary.
First Published May 11, 2011 2:51 pm
