HARRISBURG, Pa. - Pennsylvania’s state Supreme Court will consider a new map of congressional districts being recommended by a lower court judge who picked a proposal favored by top Republican lawmakers, but opposed by Democrats.
The map recommended Monday by Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough, a Republican, came from a pool of more than a dozen submitted to the court.
The map passed the Republican-controlled Legislature without support from a single Democratic lawmaker and was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.
It sides with Republicans on the most prominent areas of disagreement between partisans. The state Supreme Court — with a 5-2 Democratic majority — will make the ultimate decision.
In 1992, when a similar process played out, the high court went along with the lower court judge's recommendation.
Pennsylvania, like most other states, must redraw its congressional district boundaries to account for a decade of demographic shifts. The new districts must take effect in this year’s election, to last until 2032's election.
The new congressional map will account for the loss of a single House seat because of Pennsylvania's comparatively slow population growth. Pennsylvania has 18 House seats now but the congressional delegation will dip to 17 members next year.