PA Sets Sights On 2020 Census Projections
by Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- As we turn the page on a new year, projections are being made for the upcoming 2020 census, after which new congressional districts will be drawn.
The politically-charged process could see Pennsylvania lose more political clout.
Muhlenberg College political science professor Chris Borick reacts to the numbers from the political consulting firm Election Data Services, which point to a stagnating population here, while southern and western states are growing.
"What this all points to is the loss of at least one congressional seat," Borick said.
He says any population growth is concentrated here in the southeast and up the eastern border along the Delaware River, so he anticipates losing a seat in the western part of the Commonwealth.
"Where that seat is going to be taken is the really dramatic question that will be posed to the state, after the census," said Borick.
Congressional redistricting is controlled by Republicans in the State Legislature, which Borick characterizes as a "hyper partisan affair."
"We are a state that relies excessively on legislative control of the process," he said.
Good government groups want to de-politicize how the state draws legislative districts.
Spokesman Bob Warner, of the Pennsylvania chapter of Common Cause, is among the critics who say right now, boundaries are manipulated to favor one party.
"We hope that it can be taken out of the hands of politicians and made the responsibility of a more independent citizen's commission," Warner said.
That would require positive votes in two consecutive legislative sessions and voter approval in a referendum.