Pennsylvania's Democratic governor rejects Republican legislature's redrawn congressional maps for being too partisan

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) rejected the Republican legislature's redrawn congressional district maps on Tuesday, saying "the map submitted to my office by Republican leaders is still a gerrymander." The move follows the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's order in late January for all 18 of the state's districts to be redrawn before the 2018 election after finding gerrymandering that "plainly and palpably" benefited the GOP. Wolf said the Republican legislature's attempt at a map kept 70 percent of the districts the court had found unconstitutional, The Morning Call adds.

"Barring some kind of 11th-hour agreement at the Capitol, the court has declared its intent to impose a new set of congressional maps by next Monday for use in the primary," reports PennLive. "There is still a narrow window for direct negotiations between Wolf and legislative leaders."

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed state Republicans' request to halt the order from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. A nonpartisan map in Pennsylvania, election law experts say, would likely result in Democrats picking up as many as three seats, helping their bid to retake control of the U.S. House this fall.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up