Case Summary

On April 26, 2021, several Pennsylvania voters filed a state lawsuit against Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State challenging the state’s 2010-cycle congressional redistricting plan as malapportioned in violation of the one person, one vote requirement under Article I, § 2 of the U.S. Constitution and the Pennsylvania Constitution’s Free and Equal Elections and Petition Clauses, as well as violating 2 U.S.C. § 2(c). They sought a declaratory judgment the plan was unconstitutional and unlawful, an injunction barring the plan from use in future elections, and requested the court implement a new, properly apportioned plan if the General Assembly and Governor failed to do so.

  • On September 2, 2021, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania allowed the legislative leaders of the Pennsylvania House and Senate to intervene in the case as defendants since any court decision would directly impair their redistricting authority, but denied intervention requests made by the Republican Party of Pennsylvania and two different groups of Pennsylvania voters since they had “no legally enforceable interest” in the case.
  • On October 8, 2021, the court dismissed the lawsuit on ripeness and standing grounds. The court found the plaintiffs lacked standing since the harm they alleged from the state’s failure to timely enact new redistricting plans was too remote and speculative at that time, and their claims were not yet ripe since they were contingent on “future uncertainties” that might or might not end up happening.

Case Library

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania - No. 132 MD 2021