As expected, Governor Tom Wolf on Wednesday vetoed the congressional map approved by the Republican-led state legislature.
Republican members of the PA House and Senate have said that the map is equitable towards both population size and political parties. However, Governor Wolf said yesterday in a statement that he believed, like many in the Democratic party, that the map was unfairly gerrymandered to favor Republicans. He said that the map that was sent to him split multiple communities of interest, including Luzerne, Chester, Dauphin and Philadelphia Counties that he feels that are being split to favor Republicans, and not any other reason. He also said that the map “does not deliver on the Pennsylvania Constitution’s guarantee of free and equal elections,” saying the map selected by the legislature takes advantage of the process and allowed them to choose their own voters.
The map of US Congressional districts is being changed in response to the results of the 2020 Census. With the Governor’s Veto, the state courts will now select a congressional map.
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