Holder Statement on Pennsylvania Supreme Court Selecting NRAF-Backed Congressional Map
For Immediate Release
Contact
Brooke Lillard | Lillard@redistrictingaction.org
Holder Statement on Pennsylvania Supreme Court Selecting NRAF-Backed Congressional Map
Washington, D.C. — Today, Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States, released the following statement in response to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to adopt a fair congressional map submitted by National Redistricting Action Fund (NRAF)-supported petitioners in the impasse lawsuit, Carter v. Chapman:
“This is a substantial win for Pennsylvanians who now get to vote for the candidate of their choosing in fair, lawful districts for the next decade. In 2012, following the previous redistricting cycle, Republicans drew extreme gerrymandered maps that unfairly gave them 13 of 18 seats in the Pennsylvania delegation, despite getting significantly fewer total statewide votes in congressional elections. This year, Republican legislators again arrogantly passed a gerrymandered map, but this time they were halted in their tracks by the citizens of Pennsylvania, Governor Wolf, and the Carter petitioners.
“In refusing to do the necessary and appropriate work to draw a fair map, Republicans deeply underestimated the tenacity of Pennsylvanians and our preparedness to fight for the right to vote in free and fair elections.”
The NRAF-supported impasse lawsuit, Carter v. Chapman, asked the court to step in to draw the state’s new congressional districts, because the Commonwealth’s executive and legislative branches failed to do so. As part of the lawsuit, the Carter petitioners submitted a congressional plan to the Court that adheres to Pennsylvania’s redistricting requirements and presents a fair, compliant solution that most accurately reflects the state’s population changes. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has adopted that map.
Click here to read the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision.
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