Horsham Township Remains Whole While Montgomery Township Is Split Under Legislative Maps

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — Horsham is now once again together, but Montgomery Township has been divided under revised legislative maps approved last week by a state redistricting body.

Pennsylvania's Legislative Reapportionment Commission late last week endorsed a new state House district map that had reversed an initial plan that would have split Horsham Township into two separate House districts.

On Feb. 4, the commission approved a plan that would reverse course and keep Horsham together.

"Thankfully, the LRC listened to the hundreds of Montgomery County residents who overwhelmingly asked the commission to reject its plan to split Horsham between two House districts," State Rep. Todd Stephens, R-151, said in a statement reacting to the plan. "The decision to keep Horsham whole is a victory for everyone in [sic] who argued that the preliminary plan would have unconstitutionally diluted the power of Horsham."

Meanwhile, however, Stephens chastised the commission for not doing the same with Montgomery Township, which is also part of his current House district.

"Unfortunately, Montgomery Township is unnecessarily divided in this map and we were never given an opportunity to make a similar case," Stephens stated. "The residents of Montgomery Township deserved an opportunity to be heard."

Stephens said that the commission could have improved the current 151st Legislative District, which now is made up of two whole, and two split municipalities and parts of four different school districts.

He said during the proposal phase, a representative with Fair Districts PA offered up a 151st map that included two whole municipalities, split only one, and included only two school districts.

"That would have been a dramatic improvement," Stephens said in his statement. "Instead, the map the commission adopted continues to split our community in unfortunate ways."

The state undergoes a legislative redistricting once a decade.

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission — the panel is made up of top General Assembly leaders and one independent chair — had voted 4-1 to approve the final version of the proposed new legislative maps, according to media reports.

The commission filed their final plan with the secretary of the commonwealth, but many believe the maps will be challenged in court.

To learn more about redistricting, check out this piece by Spotlight PA, which gives a decent breakdown of the process and possible next steps.