LETTER Independent panel needed to redraw voting districts
The Pennsylvania Constitution calls for our electoral districts to respect municipal boundaries as much as possible. Yet the current 18th Congressional District bundles Washington and Waynesburg with Latrobe and Ligonier but excludes Charleroi, California and Masontown. The 46th Pennsylvania State Senate District encompasses almost all of Washington and Greene counties with parts of Beaver County but excludes Peters Township.
We should vote with our neighbors: the people with whom we share schools, hospitals, roads and local government. Political deal-making has fractured our voting districts in the interest of creating “safe” districts for candidates in both parties.
State Senate Bill 22 and state House Bill 722 propose an independent commission to draw the voting districts. This commission would draw boundaries based on the number of people and where they live, without consideration of party affiliations or past election results. Please reach out to your state senator and representative to voice your support for these bills. Go to fairdistrictspa.com to learn more.
Heather Purnell
McMurray