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PA Fair Districts Update – End Gerrymandering Now! Wed, Feb. 26

February 26, 2020 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Important redistricting legislation is before the PA House and Senate. Come and hear the latest on what needs to happen to get these bills passed in time for the next census.

The current process is redistricting gone wrong—a process driven by partisan politics, mapping technology, big data, and outside money.

The result is gerrymandering: the practice of manipulating voting districts to benefit parties, not people.

Gerrymandered districts give voters less voice and less choice, and we get polarization instead of problem-solving in Harrisburg and Washington. Here’s why:

  • Your vote counts less. Gerrymandering means politicians listen to party leaders and pressure from outside interests, rather than the people. Gerrymandering uses techniques like “packing” and “cracking” to target voters from a particular group, such as voters from the opposite party or minority or low-income voters, to reduce their influence.
  • We get fewer options at the ballot box. Competitive elections keep politicians accountable. But in the 2016 general election, incumbents ran unopposed in almost half of PA House and Senate races. Many voters feel understandably frustrated, so they disengage—which adds to the vicious cycle of unaccountability.
  • Politicians lose civility and can’t solve problems. When districts are designed to protect incumbents, new faces and new voices are kept out of office or discouraged from running at all, and those in office feel no need to play nice. There are lots of important problems we simply can’t fix if we don’t have a functional democracy.

Learn more about the problem and proposed solutions.

Venue

Easttown Library
720 First Avenue
Berwyn, PA 19312
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Phone:
610-644-0138
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