Pennsylvania Redistricting

About Redistricting

What is Reapportionment

Reapportionment is the process that allocates the number of Congressional districts for each state. It is calculated after every decennial census and is based on the population of each state.

What is Redistricting?

Redistricting is the process within each state that determines where state legislative and Congressional districts are located. Depending on which areas have population increases or decreases, district boundaries may be adjusted to reflect these changes.

How does Redistricting work in Pennsylvania?

State Legislative Districts

The drawing of district lines for State Senate and State House districts is undertaken by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission as specified in Pennsylvania’s Constitution. Article 2, Sections 16 and 17 state that the State Senates’ 50 districts and House of Representatives’ 203 districts are overseen by a five-member Commission.

The 2021 Legislative Reapportionment Commission (LRC) members are:

Mark Nordenberg, Chairman
Senator Kim Ward, Senate Majority Leader
Senator Jay Costa, Senate Minority Leader
Representative Kerry Benninghoff, House Majority Leader
Representative Joanna McClinton, House Minority Leader

The current State Senate districts can be found here and the current State House districts can be found here.

Congressional Districts

The drawing of Congressional district lines is accomplished through legislative action: a bill passed by both the House and Senate and signed by the Governor. Pennsylvania currently has 18 Congressional districts. Even though PA increased in population between 2010 and 2020, other states had larger increases and, as a result, Pennsylvania will lose 1 seat and have 17 Congressional districts beginning in 2022.

As a result of litigation mid-decade, the current Pennsylvania Congressional Districts were released by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in February 2018 and can be found here.

How Can Citizens Participate in Redistricting

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission as well as the State House and Senate State Government Committees will be holding public hearings throughout the Summer and Fall where citizens can testify and give input about their local area or on an issue of interest. All hearings will be available to attend in person or online. In addition, there will be opportunities for citizens to create and submit their own redistricting plans or comments.

Senator Costa Provides Update on Congressional Redistricting

Reapportionment Commission Hearings

Reapportionment Public Hearing - February 4, 2022

The 2021 Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission, on Friday, February 4, 2022, approved the Final Reapportionment Plan for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and Pennsylvania Senate, in accordance with Pennsylvania Constitution, Article II, Section 17(c). The Commission has filed the Final Plan with the Secretary of the Commonwealth, and the Final Plan

Reapportionment Public Hearing - January 15, 2022

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds a public hearing at 9 am.

Dr. John Nagle Professor, Carnegie-Mellon Pittsburgh (Written Testimony, Presentation)
Dr. Mike Jones-Correa Professor, Univ. of Pennsylvania Philadelphia
Rep. Mike Jones – District 93, York County (Part)
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie – District 134, Lehigh County (Part), Berks County (Part) (Testimony)
Peter Buck, State College
Dan Daub, Tower City
Matt Krugh, Wexford
Bryan Madeya, Wexford
Stephanie Lane, Hampden
Aaron Bashir, Philadelphia

Diana Robinson, Make The Road PA, Philadelphia
Connie Hester, Shaler
Ben Forstate, Pittsburgh (Testimony)
Michael Wilcox, Cochranton
Mark Kirchgasser, Middletown Township
Dwayne Royster, Philadelphia
Jamie Mogil, Lower Merion LOWV, Haverford (Written Testimony, Presentation)
Lauren Vidas, Philadelphia
Bibiana Boerio, Latrobe
Jacqueline Rivera, Bethlehem
Sen. Katie Muth – District 44, Berks (part), Chester (part), and Montgomery (part) Counties

Reapportionment Public Hearing - January 14, 2022 - 11AM

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds a public hearing at 11 am.

Senator Pat Vance, Mechanicsburg
Representative Todd Stephens – District 151, Montgomery County (part) (Testimony, Presentation)
Amanda Holt, Allentown
William Gildea-Walker, Horsham
Deborah Hinchey, Better for PA, Philadelphia
George Tyson, Enola
Mark Partner, Port Royal
Alice Gray, Port Royal
Robert Postal, Lewistown
Paige Cognetti, Scranton
Rick Gray, Lancaster
Erika Almiron, Philadelphia
Neil Makhija, IAImpact.org, Penn Valley
Antonio Pineda, Whitehall
Melissa Wright, Philadelphia
Oliver Truong, Lancaster
Alejandro Escamilla, Whitehall
Kadida Kenner, New PA Project, Chesterbrook (Testimony)

Reapportionment Public Hearing - January 14, 2022 - 2 PM

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds a public hearing at 2pm.

Dr. Michael Barber (Written Testimony, Presentation)
– Associate Professor of Political Science, Brigham Young University
Dr. Kosuke Imai (Written Testimony, Presentation)
– Professor of Government and Statistics and affiliate of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science, Harvard University
Dr. Matt Barreto (Written Testimony, Presentation)
– Professor of Political Science and Chicana/o and Central American Studies, founder of the Latino Policy & Politics Initiative and Voting Rights Project, UCLA
Dr. Christopher Warshaw (Written Testimony, Presentation)
– Associate Professor of Political Science, George Washington University

Reapportionment Public Hearing - January 7, 2022 @ 1 pm

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds a public hearing at 1pm.

Senator Lisa M. Boscola, District 18 – Lehigh (part) and Northampton (part) Counties
Representative Christopher M. Rabb, District 200 – Philadelphia County (Part)
Khalif Ali, Common Cause, Pittsburgh
Kyle Hynes, Pittsburgh
Dean Browning, Allentown
Joshua Nagy, Camp Hill
Don Hossler, Middletown
Christopher Fromme, Pittsburgh
Ricardo Almodovar, Campus Vote Project, Lancaster
Arlene Edmonds, Philadelphia
Kevin Moul, Abbottstown
William Madway, RAC-PA, Bryn Mawr
Michael Goffredo, Bangor SD, Bangor

Reapportionment Public Hearing - January 7, 2022 @ 9 am

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds a public hearing at 9 am.

Susan Gobreski, LOWV, Philadelphia
Scott North, Jefferson County, Brookville
Suzanne Broughton, Allison Park
Regis Synan, Murrysville
John Barrett, South Fayette Twp., Morgan
Jean Handley, Harrisburg
Maria Gutierrez, CASA, York
Kris Henderson, Amistad Law, Philadelphia
Moses Wamalwa, ACE Space, Pittsburgh
William Haws, Bangor SD, Bangor
Ronald Ruman, West Manchester Twp., York
Gennaro Piraino, Franklin Regional SD, Murrysville
David Bolton, Abbottstown
Mark Pinsley, Allentown
Representative Robert Freeman, District 136 – Northampton County

Reapportionment Public Hearing - January 6, 2022 @ 6 pm

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds a public hearing at 6 pm.

Representative Pamela DeLissio, District 194 – Philadelphia County and Montgomery County
Matthew Albrecht, Wyoming (Testimony)
Nathan Rybner, Lancaster
Stephanie Grimes, Oakmont
Jill Cooper, Murrysville
Justan Fields, Allentown
Jessica Faust, Zelienople
Terry Hoffman, Eagleville
Steve Schlauch, Plum
Marc Steir, Harrisburg
Elizabeth Gallo, Dillsburg
Nate Silcox, Mechanicsburg
Jeff Haste, Harrisburg
Diana Robinson, Philadelphia
Joshua Siegel, Allentown

Reapportionment Public Hearing - January 6, 2022 @ 3 pm

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds a public hearing at 3pm.

David Thornburgh, Committee of 70 (Testimony)
Salewa Ogunmefun, PA Voices (Testimony)
Carol Kuniholm, Fair Districts (Testimony, Slides)
Representatives from Allegheny County (Testimony)
- Representative Valerie Gaydos, District 44 – Allegheny County
- Representative Jason Ortitay, District 46 – Allegheny County and Washington County
- Representative Emily Kinkead, District 20 – Allegheny County
- Representative Anita Astorino Kulik, District 45 – Allegheny County
Brian Humphrey, Harrisburg
Juan Giarrizzo, Philadelphia
Victor Martinez, Allentown
Enid Santiago, Allentown
Phyllis Blumberg, Bala Cynwyd
Freda Tepfer, Erie

Reapportionment Meeting - December 16, 2021

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds a ninth public hearing to hear from invited guests about citizen mapping efforts (Agenda)

Reapportionment Meeting - October 25, 2021

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds an eighth public hearing to explore legal parameters for redistricting nationally and in Pennsylvania, with testimony from invited experts (Agenda).

Reapportionment Meeting - October 25, 2021

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission held a public meeting to consider matters relating to legislative reapportionment.

Reapportionment Commission Meeting - October 13, 2021

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds a seventh public hearing to explore legislative redistricting issues affecting racial and other minority populations, including concerns under the Federal Voting Rights Act, with testimony from invited experts (Agenda).

Reapportionment Commission Meeting - September 21, 2021

At its September 21 meeting, the Legislative Reapportionment Commission approved Resolution 5A, which would exempt prisoners in state correctional institutions who are serving minimum sentences that will expire after April 1, 2030 from data reallocation under the provisions of Resolution 4A, which was adopted by the Commission at its August 24 meeting. A resolution similar to Resolution 5A had been proposed by Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward at that earlier meeting but had been tabled so that Commissioners would have more time to consider its implications. Read More

Reapportionment Commission Meeting - August 24, 2021

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission held a meeting on Tuesday, August 24, 2021 from 10:30am – 12:30pm, to receive a report on the processing of census data and consider other matters relating to legislative reapportionment (Agenda, Resolution).

Reapportionment Commission Meeting - August 4, 2021

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds a public hearing to gather feedback from Pennsylvania citizens regarding legislative reapportionment. The hearing also featured presentations on the subjects of the federal Voting Rights Act, and the impact of incarceration on political representation (Agenda).

Reapportionment Commission Meeting - August 3, 2021 @ 6 pm

The hearing at 6:00 p.m. gathered feedback from Pennsylvania citizens regarding legislative reapportionment. (Agenda).

Reapportionment Commission Meeting - August 3, 2021 @ 2 pm

The hearing at 2:00 p.m. featured presentations on the subjects of Citizen Participation in Reapportionment, and other Perspectives on Mapping. (Agenda).

Senator Costa Provides an Update on Reapportionment Meetings :: August 3, 2021

Reapportionment Commission Meeting - July 29, 2021

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission has scheduled a Public hearing (Agenda) featuring presentations from representatives of the National Conference of State Legislatures, Center for Rural Pennsylvania, and the Legislative Data Processing Center

Reapportionment Commission Meeting - July 13, 2021

The Legislative Reapportionment Commission holds a public hearing to focus on census data, primary election deadlines, and reapportionment criteria. The meeting began with an administrative matter, regarding the appointment of Jonathan Cervas. (Agenda and Resolution)