By JODY L. FRAZIER
For the Clarion News
Clarion Borough Council Feb. 6 agreed to support an effort by Fair Districts PA requesting state legislators work on a new redistricting map for the state by supporting Pennsylvania Senate Bill 22 and House Bill 722.
The proposed bills would change the method under which federal and state legislative districts are drawn.
Clarion resident Janice Horn, who is also active with the Clarion County League of Women Voters, brought the Fair Districts PA effort to the attention of borough council.
According to information posted on its main website, Fair Districts supports Senate Bill 22 and House Bill 722 because “they provide multiple safeguards for a fairer process, ensure a capable and demographically representative commission, and reduce the major political parties’ ability to manipulate district lines.
“While other redistricting initiatives have been introduced that address some of these concerns, they fall short of resolving the core conflicts of interest in today’s process.”
The proposed bills are an attempt to end “gerrymandering” in the state.
According to Wikipedia, gerrymandering is a practice intended to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries.
“The resulting district is known as a gerrymander however that word is also a verb for the process.
“The term gerrymandering has negative connotations. Two principal tactics are used in gerrymandering: “cracking” (i.e. diluting the voting power of the opposing party’s supporters across many districts) and “packing” (concentrating the opposing party’s voting power in one district to reduce their voting power in other districts).
“In addition to its use achieving desired electoral results for a particular party, gerrymandering may be used to help or hinder a particular demographic, such as a political, ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, or class group, such as in U.S. federal voting district boundaries that produce a majority of constituents representative of African-American or other racial minorities, known as “majority-minority districts.’
“Gerrymandering can also be used to protect incumbents.”
Horn asked council members representing borough residents to support the effort by declaring Pennsylvania residents should a fair, transparent and non-political way of drawing legislative districts.
District are redrawn every 10 years following a national census. The party “in power” in the legislature is responsible for drawing the districts.
Republicans drew the current districts.
Horn mentioned Piney Township, near the center of Clarion County, is split into two federal legislative districts, a situation Horn said might be unconstitutional.
Clarion County includes two districts, the 5th, represented by Glenn “GT” Thompson and the 3rd, represented by Mike Kelly.
Both men are Republicans.
Clarion residents Elizabeth Fulmer and Robert Balough spoke in favor of council supporting the non-binding resolution.
“Gerrymandering is probably the greatest threat to our democracy,” said Balough.