Pa. Supreme Court Court Picks National Dems' Map As New Congressional Plan

By Stephen Caruso, Pennsylvania Capital-Star

February 23, 2022

Pennsylvania’s highest court has picked a map submitted by voters backed by a national group aligned with Democrats to be the commonwealth’s next congressional map.

In a 5-page order, the state Supreme Court ordered 4-3 that the map, known as the Carter plan, be adopted as soon as possible. An opinion was not immediately available. Four of the courts five liberal justices signed onto the order, while the other, Justice Debra Todd, joined two justices elected as Republicans in dissent.

The decision also allows congressional and statewide candidates to start collecting signatures to get on the primary ballot starting Friday, Feb. 25 and running through March 15. The primary election will still be held on May 17.

Legislative candidates’ petitioning is still suspended, pending legal arguments over the yet-to-be-finalized state House and Senate maps.

The map was filed with the court by plaintiffs linked to the National Redistricting Action Fund, a dark money affiliate of National Democratic Redistricting Committee, while the case was argued by Democratic attorney Marc Elias.

The NRAF asked judges to pick the map when it appeared Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, and the Republican-controlled General Assembly would not agree on a proposal.

The fund originally filed a case in spring 2021, but were rebuffed. A second NRAF suit in December was accepted. Then, all eyes shifted to the courts after Wolf vetoed the Legislature’s map in January.

The decision partially eases some of the uncertainty over Pennsylvania’s 2022 elections, but at least one legal challenge remains for now. A group of five Republican voters, including two GOP congressional candidates, filed a lawsuit in federal district court earlier this month asking for a federal judge to block the state court from implementing a map. That case is ongoing.

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