Rural districts to lose prison vote tally
With a single tie-breaking vote last week, former Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg accomplished what years of legislation couldn’t: ending so-called “prison gerrymandering” in Pennsylvania, at least for now.
The 3-2 vote by the commission redrawing the state’s election maps means most prisoners will be counted in their home communities, not the sites of their imprisonment. That means a small but noticeable shift in population from the rural districts where prisons are located to the more populous areas many incarcerated people call home.
“When a system holds and counts a person in one place but forces him or her to vote in another, it does create a basic issue of fairness,” said Nordenberg, who was selected to chair the five-member bipartisan committee that sets new rules and maps after each U.S. Census.
What activists term prison gerrymandering is less well-known than the most common forms of gerrymandering – like drawing circuitous districts that rope in voters so one party controls an extra seat. But it has an effect, particularly in rural Central and Western Pennsylvania.
Huntingdon County, for example, counts about 3,000 inmates in its two state correctional facilities, according to state data from July. Meanwhile, the six Pennsylvania counties of the Philadelphia metropolitan area count about 4,000 state inmates.
That grants greater voting power to Huntingdon County representatives, even though the thousands housed in the county aren’t able to vote there.
The two Republican lawmakers on the redistricting panel – Sen. Kim Ward, R-Westmoreland and Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre – voted against the rule change. Ward questioned why college students, for example, can still be counted in their temporary hometowns while prisoners cannot.
While the rule change is unlikely to have resounding effects on the balance of power in Harrisburg, it accomplishes a goal long sought by electoral reform advocates. At least 11 other states have banned the practice of tallying prisoners at their incarceration addresses, according to the Massachusetts-based Prison Gerrymandering Project.
Pa. reps push for coal sludge tax break
A third Pennsylvania congressman has joined a little-noticed effort to grant tax credits for companies that turn toxic coal sludge into fuel for steel mills.
Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-14th District, signed on to the Steel Industry Preservation Act this week, joining Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th District and Rep. Conor Lamb, D-17th District. Together, they represent three-fourths of the bill’s support.
The proposal would grant tax breaks for businesses that take coal waste sludge – a toxic byproduct kept in landfills – and reuse it in the production of coke, a coal-based fuel used in steel production.
A similar legislative effort failed to gain traction two years ago. Supporters at the time said it would make steel cheaper and let the industry compete with overseas producers.
Officials seek last-minute Afghan aid
Lawmakers from both major parties condemned the Thursday attack at Kabul’s airport, while officials at every level of government called on the United States to accept more refugees fleeing the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., said “we cannot tolerate terrorist threats to the United States emanating from Afghanistan,” hours after the airport attack that killed 12 Americans and dozens of Afghan civilians. Many of those killed were gathered outside the airport, hoping to flee the country with U.S. help before the departure deadline this week.
Several days earlier, Casey had signed on to a bipartisan Senate letter calling for Biden to smooth the process for Afghan allies – including interpreters who worked with U.S. troops – to seek shelter in the United States.
At the same time, one Pennsylvania representative from each party signed on to a House letter urging Biden to answer questions on the evacuation process.
“It is this administration’s moral obligation to leverage all available resources to help as many people as possible to safety in the United States,” the House letter said.
State officials, too, have moved to help more Afghan citizens seeking refuge. Gov. Tom Wolf said last week that he is prepared to assist in resettlement. State Rep. Dan K. Williams, D-Chester, has said he plans a resolution calling for resettlement cooperation with the federal government.
“Pennsylvania has a long and storied history of accepting refugees,” Williams wrote, calling on Pennsylvanians to “stay true to our roots.”
Ryan Brown covers statewide politics for Ogden Newspapers. He can be reached at rbrown@altoonamirror.com.