The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday picked a redistricting map that was designed by a Stanford professor and proposed by Democrat plaintiffs.
One Democrat justice, Debra Todd, sided with two Republican justices in dissent from the 4-3 decision to create a map dubbed the “Carter Plan,” which greatly pleased Democrats. The map creates eight red districts and six blue districts with three districts as a tossup.
Article I of the Constitution empowers state legislatures to draw congressional lines. Both chambers of the Pennsylvania legislature are controlled by Republicans. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is controlled by justices regarded as partisan Democrats.
Democrat “lawfare” lawyer, Marc Elias, who has been credited with thwarting Republicans in multiple 2020 election battles throughout the nation celebrated the court’s decision as “fair.”
“Pennsylvania Supreme Court ADOPTS new congressional map. Court selects maps put forward by our clients (Carter) as new statewide map!” he tweeted. “Proud of the work @EliasLawGroup and @RedistrictFdn did to ensure fair maps in Pennsylvania.”
Pennsylvania’s delegation is currently split between nine Republicans and nine Democrats. But like so many Democrat-controlled states, Pennsylvania lost one district in the 2020 census.
The map combines two Republican districts of Reps. Fred Keller and Rep. G.T. Thompson, while leaving Democrat Rep. Matt Cartwright and establishment Republican Rep. Dan Meuser intact.
The far-left court ruling urged the state’s lawmakers to immediately implement the Democrat map. “Third, Respondent Secretary of the Commonwealth shall, without delay, following the preparation of the textual description of the Carter Plan, publish notice of the Congressional Districts in the Pennsylvania Bulletin,” the court ruling read.
NEWS: In a 4-3 decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has picked the Carter plan as the commonwealth's new congressional map. More TK. pic.twitter.com/lFtajvkSv1
— Stephen Caruso (@StephenJ_Caruso) February 23, 2022
Republicans were hoping the judges would side with the Republican-controlled legislature’s map. But Democrats hold the majority on the state’s supreme court.
Nationwide, Democrats are doing “weirdly well” in nationwide redistricting battles, according to New York Magazine. Democrats have curtailed the GOP’s overall 2022 midterm momentum in Maryland, New York, California, Oregon, New Jersey, and Illinois.
“[A]ccording to at least one analyst, there is actually an outside chance that the final map will be tilted, ever so slightly, in the Democrats’ favor,” the publication reported at the end of December.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) controls the U.S. House by a margin of about five seats.
The case is Carter v. Chapman, No. 7 MM 2022 in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
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