PHILADELPHIA (AP/KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania’s highest court broke a partisan deadlock Wednesday over a new map of congressional districts by selecting new boundaries that broadly adhere to the outlines of current districts, even as the state loses one seat because of sluggish population growth.
The Democratic-majority state Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision picked a 17-district map, the Carter map, that had been proposed by a group of Democratic-aligned voters who sued last year in an effort to get the court involved.
It is unlikely to create a big shift in the makeup of the congressional delegation, as the state loses a seat, going from 18 to 17, to account for relatively stagnant population growth in census findings over the past decade, particularly in rural white areas predominantly represented by Republicans.
The map provides eight Republican-leaning districts, six Democratic-leaning districts and three closely divided districts, according to an analysis by FiveThirtyEight, a website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics and other topics.
View the Supreme Court order below:
View a detailed outline of the Carter Plan below:
Backers of the Carter Plan say 86% of Pennsylvania residents would stay in their current district.
The map selection process ended up in the high court after the Legislature and governor were unable to come to an agreement.
In a statement, Gov. Tom Wolf said he was pleased with the court’s ruling.
“It is a fair map that will result in a congressional delegation mirroring the citizenry of Pennsylvania,” he said. “With today’s decision, we could again send to Washington members of Congress elected in districts that are fairly drawn without favor to one party or the other.”
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In southeastern Pennsylvania under the new map, Philadelphia’s 2nd and 3rd districts remain relatively unchanged.
Bucks County’s 1st District needed more people, so the map-makers take more municipalities from Montgomery County along the border — from Upper Hanover to Horsham — though a sliver of Horsham stays in Montgomery County’s 4th District.
To balance population, Norristown, Montgomery County’s county seat, is drawn into Delaware County’s 5th District, along with Upper Merion and a little bit more of Lower Merion.
To balance out those changes, Montgomery County’s 4th District stretches into Berks County.
Pennsylvania’s delegation is currently split evenly, nine Republicans and nine Democrats, in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 4 million to 3.4 million.
Four of five Democrats on the court formed the majority in Wednesday's decision, while one Democrat, Justice Debra Todd, sided with the court's two Republicans in opposing it.
In picking the new map, the justices also rejected a lower court judge's recommendation of a map backed by Republican lawmakers that Democrats had opposed.
The court still has to wrestle with challenges to the legislative district map for state House and Senate districts.
The court adjusted the petition gathering schedule — starting this Friday going until March 15 — but left the May 17 primary date intact for congressional races and statewide contests.
However, the court also issued an order that suspended the primary election calendar for state legislative candidates, because new state House and Senate maps are being challenged in court.
