Pennsylvania still has a redistricting problem.
Or perhaps to make it easier to understand, a man drawing problem.
The state's Supreme Court redrew the Congressional maps after a court challenge. It was used in the 2018 elections and resulted in four women being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from southeastern Pennsylvania, including Mary Gay Scanlon of Swarthmore, who took the newly created 5th District, which now covers all of Delaware County.
That's four more women than were part of the Pennsylvania delegation in D.C. before the election. That's correct. We had zero women's voices in Congress.
Across the state, the elections resulted in an even split in House races, with nine Republicans and nine Democrats emerging victorious. That's opposed to the old maps created by Republicans in the state Legislature that tilted heavily toward the GOP, with a 13-5 Republican majority.
But the court treated a symptom; it did not cure the disease.
Another round of redistricting is due after the results of the 2020 census, and unless the Legislature takes action, they will be drawn up in the same way, resulting in the same problems.
We're in favor of statewide commission to get this job out of the hands of only the politicians.
And if they want a blueprint for a good map, they should check in with Philip Hensley. The Drexel Hill man recently won a competition by the watchdog group Committee of Seventy to come up with a new map for the state.
We talk about this map-making mania on today's editorial page.
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