Tonight at the Carbon County Democrats for Progress meeting, we heard a talk from representatives of the group Fair Districts PA. This group is spearheading an effort to change the Pennsylvania Constitution to end gerrymandering in the state. As the speaker pointed out, in Pennsylvania voters don’t pick their legislators; legislators pick their voters.
One of the most amazing statistics presented is that 57 percent of the candidates running for state or federal legislative seats in Pennsylvania had no opponent in the last general election. Think about that. Over half of our legislators ran unopposed. I’m not sure what you call that, but it is not a democracy.
Currently there are two bills in the Pennsylvania legislature that call for an amendment. Both bills, SB 22 and HB 722, have Republican and Democratic sponsors. Now all we need is a groundswell of constituents who believe in fairness and a representative democracy. That may be a stretch, but I’m hoping this effort succeeds.
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