Breaking News: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court just issued a new congressional map for 2018 election

[sunonmars]

Link to tweet

[PatSeg]

1. K&R

[lagomorph777]

44. K&R2

Great news!

[malaise]

2. Get thee to the greatest page

Rec

[JDC]

3. K&R

[Johnny2X2X]

4. Did they pick one that was presented or make their own

Making their own would be most fair, but would make a further court battle possible. Taking one of the options presented would cause the least kick back.

[Fred Sanders]

8. Pacourts.us is having heavy traffic...trying to load to see maps.

[n2doc]

5. Cue the squealing from Repukes. n/t

[awesomerwb1]

6. Potentially great news

Hopefully we gain a few seats because of this.

[Leghorn21]

7. Excellent!!! Thanks, Sun!! nt

[FarCenter]

9. map from twitter account in OP

:large

[FarCenter]

11. current map since 2013 from wiki

[BigmanPigman]

13. WOW, a map that doesn't look like a jigsaw puzzlr...

what a difference!

[Tatiana]

15. Districts 9 and 10 of the current map -- just shameless.

Thank goodness we still have some rational people at the highest levels of our judicial system.

[FarCenter]

17. How about 6 and 7? 7 doesn't even appear to be contigous, although it might follow a highway

[Tatiana]

18. 7 too! Good Lord.

This was completely designed to dilute Democratic voting strength.

[gratuitous]

23. Yeah, District 7 is in a class by itself

I've seen more coherent bug splat on my windshield.

[Fritz Walter]

32. It WAS called "Goofy kicking Donald Duck"

They should have just called it fucking-Goofy.

[SCantiGOP]

26. In SC Jim Clyburn is the only Dem out of 7 seats

His district includes downtown Charleston on the coast and extends to downtown Columbia in the geographic center of the state.
About 1/3 of our voters are non-white, so a random plan should create 2-3 minority seats. But by packing AA voters in one district they all but assure the GOP of winning the other 6 districts.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

24. I made a gif to see the differences.

[NewJeffCT]

33. Thanks!

That's quite a difference.

Hopefully, Democrats can pick up a few seats because it's not gerrymandered to hell anymore

[FarCenter]

20. Governor Wolf's proposal to the Supreme Court

[FarCenter]

21. Here are the 7 proposed maps for Pennsylvania's congressional districts

http://lancasteronline.com/news/pennsylvania/here-are-the-proposed-maps-for-pennsylvania-s-congressional-districts/article_47f6b37e-1342-11e8-9a51-bb07e30711af.html

The new Supreme Court map is different from all of them. E.G. None of the proposals have Franklin and Adams in the same district, but York in a different district.

[GeoWilliam750]

35. Saner district mapping is likely to result in a saner country

[John1956PA]

10. The 14th Congressional District

The 14th Congressional District shown in the southwest corner is the subject of a currently hotly contested special election.

On edit: The March 13 special election is for the 18th Congressional District shown in the current gerrymandered map. Most of the area covered in the current 18th district will be contained by the 14th district of the new map which will apply to the May 15 primary races and the November 6 general election.

[Gothmog]

12. Yeah

Link to tweet

[spanone]

14. K&R...

[IronLionZion]

16. Ooh, this should make things more competitive

The people in many districts have had no choice for far too long. Competition is good for democracy.

http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2018/02/19/New-congressional-map-released-Pa-Supreme-Court/stories/201802190114

[bronxiteforever]

31. +100 Repukes luv competition except for their jobs!

[Iliyah]

19. ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

I know the GOPer's are fuming. LOL . . . . . .

I can hear them now. We are the VICTIMs. Why you hate ussssssssssssssssssssssss. It's HRC and Obama's fault!

Expect them to cheat and try to steal 2018.

[orangecrush]

22. Repubs having a major tantrum here

Music to my ears!

[HootieMcBoob]

25. The 18th district

Looks like the 18th district will be pretty much just the city of Pittsburgh. That puts the special election in a whole new light. The city of Pittsburgh is not in the 18th at all as it’s cure drawn.

[John1956PA]

27. I think the March 13 special election is for the currently-drawn 18th.

I am thinking that, regardless of whether Regardless Lamb or Saccone wins on March 13, they will gain their respective parties' nominations in the May 15 primary for the 14th district.

[HootieMcBoob]

29. That makes sense n/t

[pnwmom]

28. R's say they're going to appeal to a Federal Court.

Republican lawmakers say they will swiftly ask federal judges to block any new map.

[Rebl2]

34. Figures

I heard this morning if the court approved their own map, they would take it to a higher court.

[BumRushDaShow]

41. It was the PA Supreme Court that imposed the map

so there is no other "higher court". The GOP is trying to take it to the federal courts, where they were already rebuffed by the SCOTUS earlier this month because this was a PA state Constitution issue (the current map violated the state Constitution that had explicit provisions for how the maps should be drawn - e.g., "compact", "contiguous", etc) and thus should not necessarily be under federal jurisdiction ("states rights" ), because "states" decide on and set up their own voting districts.

[DeminPennswoods]

30. We're discussing the new map in this thread

if you care to come over and join in.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141991921

[RainCaster]

36. This is winning

Trump is wrong, I will never get tired of this.

[Turbineguy]

37. That's below the belt.

Now they have to rely on ratfucking and election tampering.

[BumRushDaShow]

38. PA Governor Wolf issued a directive to move to paper audit trail

as systems are being updated over the next couple years....

02/09/2018

Wolf Administration Directs that New Voting Systems in the Commonwealth Provide Paper Record

Harrisburg, PA – The Wolf administration is taking steps to increase the security and auditability of all voting systems used in the commonwealth.

Acting Secretary of State Robert Torres today issued a directive that all commonwealth voting systems purchased from February 9, 2018, forward must employ a voter-verifiable paper ballot or paper record of votes cast.

“This directive will ensure that the next generation of the commonwealth’s voting systems conforms to enhanced standards of resiliency, auditability and security,” Secretary Torres said. “The current voting equipment in counties works and can be audited. But new voting machines with paper ballots or voter-verifiable paper backup will improve auditability and augment security.”
Over the next few years, Pennsylvania’s counties will replace much of their aging voting equipment. This directive informs them of the specifications they must consider when purchasing new voting equipment. The department wants to be sure counties move to voting systems that meet their needs for accessibility and security and make audits easier."

A directive requiring a paper record of voting is necessary because:

It is in line with modern equipment offered by voting system manufacturers;

It will allow counties to expand their auditing practices. Auditing of voting equipment is an essential part of guaranteeing a system’s integrity and accuracy.

It will enable compliance, if future legislation requiring a paper record is enacted at the state or federal level; and

It will ensure that Pennsylvania’s voting system can achieve resilience by enhancing its ability to withstand and recover more rapidly from disruptions.

“We want to be proactive and replace older voting systems before their hardware and software become obsolete. This directive is a first step in that modernization effort. We will continue to work closely with the General Assembly and county officials to implement reforms that enhance the accessibility and integrity of Pennsylvania’s elections,” Secretary Torres said.
This directive does not preclude a county from purchasing equipment that supports and maintains a county’s current voting system for as long as that system is certified for use in the commonwealth."

http://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/State-Details.aspx?newsid=261

[Takket]

39. this is a great victory for democracy! hope this standard spreads nationwide

[brooklynite]

40. Just to be clear...this does NOT affect the PA-18 (Conor Lamb) race next month.

[gay texan]

42. wailing and gnashing of teeth from the GOP in 3, 2, 1..... n/t

[durablend]

43. Oh it's already happening

They're insistent that this will be tossed out by USSC