Redistricting & Gerrymandering: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
This #TakeActionPhilly forum featured experts from local public interest legal organizations, Villanova, the University of Pennsylvania and the NAACP.
Click here to watch the forum.
2021 is critical for our political future: state and federal legislative districts will be redrawn, and the Pennsylvania General Assembly is considering a harmful constitutional amendment that would give legislators, for the first time, power to draw districts for electing state appellate court judges.
This virtual event focused on how redistricting works in Pennsylvania; how redistricting can result in political and prison gerrymandering, and the potential impact of House Bill 38, the proposed constitutional amendment that would create representative districts for Pennsylvania appellate court judges.
Speakers also discussed what citizens can do to ensure that district lines are drawn fairly and in a way that allows us to elect members of Congress and a state legislature who respond to voters.
Welcome: Wesley Payne, Esq., Chancellor-Elect, Philadelphia Bar Association
Moderator: Khalif Ali, Executive Director, Common Cause Pennsylvania
Speakers:
- Benjamin D. Geffen, Staff Attorney, Public Interest Law Center
- Deborah R. Gross, President and CEO, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts
- Rory Kramer, Associate Professor, Department of Sociology & Criminology, Villanova University
- Seth Kreimer, Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School
- Cara McClellan, Assistant Counsel, NAACP Legal Defense Fund