Inquirer Editorial: Remove the politics

The politically charged work of redistricting will begin soon in Pennsylvania, and state legislators should enact some ground rules seeking fairness.

Reapportionment occurs every 10 years, after the U.S. census. The goal is to come up with an equal number of residents in each district.

But Pennsylvania usually makes a mess of it. The result is one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation.

Oddly shaped maps of the 203 state House and 50 Senate districts are drawn to protect incumbents, based on block-by-block voting patterns.

The results are divided communities, uncompetitive elections, and a system that puts more emphasis on big campaign donors than on average voters. It also gives party leaders too much power, allowing them to punish legislators who show independence and reward those who vote the party line.

"The system has been gamed into one in which representatives pick their voters, instead of voters picking their representatives," said Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause/Pennsylvania.

This spring, a state-mandated reapportionment commission will again go to work. It will consist of the four party leaders in the House and Senate or their designees, who will choose a fifth member to serve as chairman.

At the same time, the legislature must approve new congressional districts based on Pennsylvania's losing one seat in the U.S. House. And Philadelphia City Council will approve new boundaries for its 10 geographically defined districts.

The new state and congressional districts will take effect in the 2012 elections; the City Council districts will be used for races in 2015.

To avoid the worst abuses of the process, state legislators should approve new rules to guide the commission's work. The commission should be required to hold hearings around the state before it develops a plan. Before a preliminary plan is approved, the public should be allowed to propose changes.

The commission should post all documents, maps, and other data on a website as quickly as possible. Its meetings and deliberations all should be open to the public.

And, as Kauffman suggests, the commission should be instructed not to use "corrupt" practices such as drawing district boundaries based on voter registration data and voting patterns.

In the long term, the state needs to devise a more impartial system that isn't concerned with protecting incumbents.