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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Matt Smith State
Rep. Bryan Lentz |
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Freshmen lawmakers call for redistricting reform
HARRISBURG, Oct. 24 – State Reps. Bryan Lentz, Matt Smith, John Hornaman, Chris King, Barbara McIlvaine Smith and John Galloway have sent a letter to state Rep. Babette Josephs, chairman of the House State Government Committee, calling for the committee to consider redistricting reform legislation (H.B.s 81 and 84).
“Representative Josephs pledged last week to hold hearings on legislation that would reduce the size of the legislature,” Smith said. “We feel that it makes sense to consider redistricting reform at the same time, particularly since we face a deadline in order to enact change in time for redistricting after the 2010 census.”
“Gerrymandering of districts is a threat to our democratic way of government and is a practice that needs to be stopped,” Lentz said. “To truly represent the people, and to truly allow anyone the opportunity to run for office, districts must be drawn in a way that is not influenced by voter registration.”
Only about 20 of the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are considered to be realistically competitive. In most cases, the incumbent has no election challenger or only a token opponent who is unable to raise money or run a meaningful campaign.
In Pennsylvania, fewer than 10 of the 203 state House seats, and only two or three of the 50 Senate seats, are competitive in any given election cycle. Approximately 40 percent of House seats went unchallenged in 2002, and only 5 percent were decided by less than 2,000 votes.
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ATTN. EDITORS: A copy of the letter to Rep. Josephs follows.
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CONTACT: Ruth A. Myers |
