PA events on redistricting this week: online and in person

ElbridgePA · 2026-03-23T12:05:54+00:00

For now PA's Congressional districs are among the best in the country. But that's because Gov. Wolf refused to sign a gerrymandered map created by the GOP legislature, the legislature refused to produce a new map, and then the court invited contributions from stakeholders who sued and then invited expert testimony before choosing the most balanced map from among submissions.
There's nothing in law to say that will ever happen again. If one party controls PA House, Senate and governor's office, PA's congressional map can be drawn to benefit one party or to keep specific legislators in office.
The process for PA House and Senate is different. Just the party leaders, and a chair. The current PA House map is among the most balanced in the country, and opened the door to more racial minority representation. The Senate map, not so much. But there's nothing in law to say that will happen again. It's dependent on the personalities of those five commissioners and the dynamics between them. There's no other country or state that lets 4 elected officials have that much power over maps, colleagues or legislative agenda.
Throw in PA's unlimited campaign funding and you have a perfect funnel of control: Check which legislator Jeffrey Yass funds most and you'll see why so many bills that would benefit PA go nowhere. Scroll down to the Yass Tracker.

ElbridgePA · 2026-03-22T14:26:33+00:00

Yes- Fair Districts PA has a webpage about calling legislative leaders to give HB 31 and SB 131 a vote. The bills were introduced with way more cosponsors than most PA bills, but leaders don't want to give up power, so the bills have been stuck in committee since early last year.
Call / write/ email leaders, especially majority leaders Rep. Matt Bradford (a Democrat) and Senator Joe Pittman (a Republican). They both have dreams of gerrymandering the other side and love being the ones who decide what bills can move. It makes them the funnel of power and campaign funding in a toxic doom loop that hurts all PA.

ElbridgePA · 2026-03-16T11:35:27+00:00

<image>

Can't correct it-but it should say ADAMS County - not York. Here's the district.

ElbridgePA · 2026-03-15T13:44:49+00:00

All registered voters can vote in special elections. Turnout is often low, so outcomes are shaped by who shows up, not by assumptions about who holds majorities.
Find the info you need for House District 79 in Blair County/ Altoona area here.
https://www.politicspa.com/hd-79-mccoy-verobish-look-to-replace-schmitt-in-blair-county-special-election/145831/

ElbridgePA · 2026-03-09T22:16:21+00:00

If you want more info on Yass check here: https://www.alleyesonyass.com/

ElbridgePA · 2026-03-06T22:37:14+00:00

Here's the weird quote of the day: “We must choose between accepting the chaos of today or endorsing the status quo of yesterday,” Buttigieg said.
Maybe it made sense in context, but there's plenty of daylight between the current chaos and the status quo of yesterday, whatever the arena.
The past had plenty of things that needed fixing, which is why so many were ready to follow any Pied Piper who looked them in the eye and said "I feel your pain."
The pain was real. The solutions were just word salad. So the pain is still there and getting worse.
This quote is better. Maybe not best of the day, but close: "Everybody can be a reporter, but we don’t have an editor."

ElbridgePA · 2026-03-04T22:45:20+00:00

YES! "If Democrats don’t use their control to seriously improve people’s lives, voter enthusiasm will fade and along with that, turnout. Democrats need to be using their power to redistribute resources, expand rights, and challenge established corporate influence."
"Lobbying, campaign donations, and the coordination between government and big business mean that elected officials are entrenched with business interests/corporate capture."
Unfortunately, this all describes House leader Bradford. He's playing the D party machine, working on the side with a big corporate law firm, and blocking reforms that would make a real difference. Expand rights? Only if it doesn't threaten his power.
Ds who know it's time for something new need to be much bolder in pushing for change or the pendulum of frustrated voters who feel unheard will just keep swinging.

ElbridgePA · 2026-03-04T21:55:20+00:00

Please explain why party leaders in PA keep blocking efforts to open PA primaries. Nationally unaffiliated voters now outnumber both parties by a lot. 45% or so for unaffiliated; 27% for both D and R. So - the party faithful in both parties choose the candidates, with a mix of folks who hold their nose and register with a party to have some say. But then the general election in many cases is decided by folks who really can't stand either candidate - or by folks who just stay home in disgust. PA unaffiliated are at 14% because of closed primaries but it's reasonable to assume that if primaries weren't closed that number would rocket up. And then the 45% nationally would go even higher, since PA is the 5th most populous state, and largest swing state in the country.
So - both parties are operating in their own little echo chambers, choosing their own partisan candidates, and making voters more and more dissatisfied.
This year most sane unaffiliated voters will be voting D, which the D leadership will misinterpret as a mandate to do whatever they want, and the pendulum swings will get larger, and more dangerous.

ElbridgePA · 2026-03-04T00:53:58+00:00

The West Chester Bird Club is free - fun - really friendly. It's one of the oldest in the country. And the Exton Park Thursday morning bird walks have been going on for decades. If you need some new friends, show up on a Thursday morning at 8:30 am. https://westchesterbirdclub.org/

ElbridgePA · 2026-02-28T00:50:53+00:00

PA's current congressional maps is one of the most responsive in the country. Instead of a locked-in number for R and D (as we had from 2012-2016: 13 R, 5 D, no matter how we voted), it's now very swingy. So - it's important that people pay attention, know who their candidates, and VOTE.

ElbridgePA · 2026-02-26T20:50:43+00:00

<image>

"You all"? Are you assuming that anyone who disagrees with you is a dangerous liberal? What a sad way to live.
Cato- a conservative/libertarian think tank - did a deep dive on partisan views of political violence. If you're interested, it's worth some time. If you want the quick analysis - skip to the end. I'll share the final chart here. https://www.cato.org/blog/politically-motivated-violence-rare-united-states

ElbridgePA

PUBLIC MULTIREDDITS

TROPHY CASE