PHILADELPHIA — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has selected a new congressional map that will shape power and politics in the state for the next decade, one that’s largely based on the current map and slightly favors Republicans.
In a 4-3 decision Wednesday, the court chose a map that was drawn by a Stanford professor and proposed by Democratic plaintiffs. It’s a major decision for the justices, one that will draw intense political scrutiny for the court’s elected Democratic majority.
Congressional maps are redrawn every decade to reflect changes in population, and Pennsylvania has a history of partisan gerrymandering — drawing the map to unfairly favor one political party over another. With the state losing one of its 18 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, the new districts will help determine control of Congress and how communities are represented in the years to come.
