Stop Judicial Gerrymandering - Make Your Voice Heard!
Call or write BEFORE January 25, 2021
The PA House will be voting on a bill in the next few days which will change the way Judges are elected in PA, which opens the door to unfair gerrymandering. Contact Representative KC Tomlinson to let her know, as a constituent, you want her to vote NO on this Amendment (HB38).
KC Thomlinson
District Office
2424 Bristol Road
Bensalem, PA 19020
215-750-1017
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR TODAY!
There's a NEW Gerrymandering Fight in Pennsylvania! We've been fighting legislative gerrymandering and now there's a proposal to create judicial districts which will result in Judicial Gerrymandering. An unprecedented Constitutional Amendment has been proposed to create judicial districts, enabling the party in control of the PA General Assembly (the GOP) to create an unnecessary new system that would favor judges from their party.
The proposed Amendment undermines the independence of our judges. Currently, PA appellate judges including the PA Supreme Court are elected by statewide vote, independent of the party in power within the Legislative and Executive branches. By creating Judicial Districts that are drawn by the legislature, there will be undue, partisan influence on our judges, upsetting our system of checks and balances.
We cannot allow this Amendment (HB38) to pass in the upcoming Legislative Session. The proposed Amendment has already passed once during the last session and must pass again in this session in order to proceed as a Constitutional Amendment. The bill has had essentially no discussion, no public comments, and most Pennsylvanians aren't even aware that it's being pushed ahead against our wishes.
Bucks County voices are particularly important! In order to defeat this bill, we need focus on the few remaining moderate republicans in the PA legislature. Many of them are in Bucks County, making it particularly important that they hear from you. Of course if you're outside Bucks, or even if your reps are against the bill, it's still important for them to hear from you, their constituent.
SEND A LETTER TODAY TO STOP THIS BILL (HB38) FROM UNDERMINING JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE!
Remember:
This bill would silence 9 million PA voters - rather than having a say with each statewide judge who makes decisions for all PA residents, this bill would take away our ability to vote on 90% of the judges
Justice should be blind, not rigged - giving the Legislature control over the courts creates partisanship in a branch of government whose role is to provide an independent check to the other two branches
Election by district is unnecessary - our appellate judges make decisions for all of us based on the law, not based on the representation of local interests
Legal experts do not support this bill - this bill is being rammed through with no debate, no consultation with legal experts, no support from legal groups, and many former judges - Republican and Democrat - all oppose this plan
This plan is bad for our democracy - when elected officials in the General Assembly have too much power over the courts, it undermines judicial independence and that's bad for our democracy, no matter who or what party is in charge.
Click here to send a letter to your legislators. There is a sample letter to make this quick and easy for you. Then forward this action to your PA friends and share on social media.
Stop Judicial Gerrymandering, Protect Our Courts!
Call or write BEFORE January 11, 2021
Say NO to efforts to influence our state courts through partisan gerrymandering of our judicial elections! Representative Russ Diamond has proposed a constitutional amendment that would change how we elect judges to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, Commonwealth Court and Superior Court. Instead of electing judges statewide, we would elect them in districts created by the General Assembly. This would allow legislators to gerrymander districts to give one or another party an advantage in winning judicial elections. This opens our courts up to partisan power grabs, and undue and harmful legislative influence.
Legislators need to hear from you, as a constituent! They must understand that this is not only unpopular amongst Pennsylvanians, but dangerous for our democracy. Contact your representative today!
Instructions from Bonnie Chang - Bucks Voices draft letter:
To your State Rep and State Senator
Dear
I’m writing to ask for your help to Vote NO on judicial gerrymandering HB196.
Two-thirds of Pennsylvania citizens oppose gerrymandering of Congressional and state legislative districts (2019 Franklin & Marshall poll). Instead of listening to voters, state legislators are making things worse by fast-tracking HB196, a constitutional amendment to extend gerrymandering to the courts! The bill passed by just a few votes in the last session and will come before you for a second vote early in the new session.
This bill has had very little discussion, no public comments and many members are not even aware of its potential impact. There is no reason to elect judges by district given the role they play in our constitutional government. There is no Bucks County or Elk County way to interpret statutes and the Pennsylvania Constitution. To safeguard our democracy, we need to protect the independence of the judiciary, and maintain the co-equal branches of our Commonwealth government.
You must stop this bill from passing again in the 2021 session. Indeed, this radical amendment is a new low in partisan gerrymandering unrivaled in the whole country. This is absolutely not what your constituents want.
I will be contacting you to set up a meeting to further discuss our major concerns regarding the HB196 in the new year. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Address
Phone number (Optional) Email (Optional)
Rules Reform
Call or write BEFORE Tuesday, January 5, 2021
Contact your representative in support of Rules Reform!
Tuesday, January 5th the PA State legislature will vote on rules for the coming session.
Since so many important bills with widespread support get buried unfairly and partisanly by Committee chairs and the majority leader, groups like Fair Districts and the League of Women Voters, the Media, and many more have been asking for rule changes that would bring these bills to a vote.
Please contact your State Representatives to ask that they agree to rule changes that allow these bills to see the light of day, including the Rule of 102 (any bill receiving 102 co-sponsors should go directly to a vote).
Please call State Rep K.C. Thomlinson and ask her to support the Rules Reform.
District Office - Bensalem
215-750-1017
FAX: 215-750-1295
Capitol Office - Harrisburg
717-783-7319
FAX: 717-772-2414
Instructions from Ardith Talbott:
Dear friends,
As a supporter of Fair Districts PA (or the LWV??) , this will be of interest to you, and I’m asking for your urgent help. The PA state legislature will vote on 2 very important matters early in January….Rules Reform and Judicial Gerrymandering.
This WEEK, I’m asking a few citizens like you and me, who care about good government, to call or write your/their state Representative BEFORE TUESDAY January 5, and ask them to support Rules Reform to ensure that good bills with broad support come up for a VOTE! NEXT WEEK we will have one more call to action to vote against the Judicial Voting Districts bill that would expand gerrymandering.
Please let me know when you send an email or make the call!
Calling script:
"My name is... and I’m a constituent. I live at …give address so they confirm you are a constituent.
On Tuesday January 5, the legislators will vote on Rules. Current rules keep good bills from coming up for a vote. I’d like Rep (name) to support rules reform to ensure that bills with broad support will be given a vote. Thank you for your hard work!
OR…..
Email script:
Dear Representative (name),
I’m writing to ask you to support Rules Reform. I urge you to pass a smart, sensible rules package on January 5 that will get good bills passed.
Under current procedural rules, bills with strong bipartisan support and co-sponsorship may never make it out of Committee for a full vote. The Chair of the Committee, not the majority, makes the unilateral decision on what bills will come to a vote. Several recent editorials in local papers have discussed how many good bills with broad support from citizens and legislators are killed by committee chairs before they come up for a vote. Less than 7% of bills introduced in each legislative session make it through both houses. We need to end this dysfunction. We need a system that works for all of us in Pennsylvania.
Please support procedural rules that provide a more transparent and collaborative process. A process that is responsive to bills with strong public support. Avoid rules that fuel partisan gridlock and destructive division.
These changes would make Harrisburg more responsive to the health and economic needs of Pennsylvanians and would help end political gerrymandering.
This recent Bucks County Courier Times editorial explains how one issue, protecting children from lead exposure, saw a dozen bills in the last session but all but two died in committee, only to die on the table along with other important bills.
https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/story/opinion/editorials/2020/12/18/editorial-why-harrisburg-cant-get-lead-out-popular-bills/3952719001/
This Letter to the Editor from the co-presidents of the League of Women Voters of Bucks County appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
https://my.lwv.org/pennsylvania/bucks-county/article/reforming-legislative-procedural-rules-letter-printed-reginal-newspapers