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Election Calendar 2008
General Election, November 4, 2008
Registration for the Primary, last day is March 24, 2008, if you mail it on this day make sure you ask the postmaster to postmark it! Otherwise it may not be counted.
Registration for General Election, last day is October 6, 2008

TAKE ACTION ON REDISTRICTING! Click here to take action on Redistricting through the LWV PA's Excellent Redistricting Page

New: click here to view our LWV LMN CALENDAR

REDISTRICTING REFORM!!! click here or look under "issues and action"


Click here to find your legislator by zipe code.

Redistricting Reform Takes a Vacation, July 2, 2008


From: Lora Lavin, VP for Issues and Action

Hope for a constitutional amendment to reform Pennsylvania’s redistricting process in time to take effect for 2011 ended yesterday. SB 346 was voted out of the Senate State Government Committee on June 17 and sent to the Senate for 1st consideration. Yesterday the Senate voted to remand SB 346 to the Senate Appropriations Committee essentially killing any further consideration. HB 2420 remains in the House State Government Committee and no further action is expected.

For our work on this issue we have much to be proud of. Together we did a superb job of calling attention to the need for reform. The issue was well covered in news reports, editorials, columns and op-eds around the state.

Be assured this is not the end of the reform effort. Having raised the profile of this issue, we have an obligation to make sure what happened to representative democracy in 2001 is never repeated. In a June 26 column in the Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/25/AR2008062501944.html, David Broder said “the way district lines are drawn to create safe seats for one party or the other” may be a bigger problem than campaign spending as a “distorting force in our elections.”

Stay tuned for the next steps.

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Update June 17, 2008:
To: LWVPA Board & Local Leagues
From: Bonita C. Hoke, Executive Director
Re: Redistricting Bill—SB 346 Reported from Committee

The Senate State Government just voted 7-4 to report SB 346 out of Committee for a vote on the Senate floor. While the bill did not contain the amendment recommended by the League, this is a start. There will be the opportunity for amendments from the floor. Members of the Committee, chaired by Senator Jeff Piccola include in the Majority party Senators Folmer, Brubaker, Corman, McIlhinney, Punt and Scarnati as an ex-officio member.
Minority members include: A. Williams, Fontana, Hughes and Tartaglione.
No word as yet on HB 2420

In letter to legislators, Governor Rendell endorses redistricting reform legislation
Excerpted from June 13 press release. (Complete article:click here)

Approval Would be in Time for Next Redrawing of Legislative Boundaries

HARRISBURG – Governor Edward G. Rendell today urged the chairmen of the House and Senate State Government committees to consider legislation that would change how Pennsylvania redraws its legislative district boundaries following the federal census.

"The Commonwealth's existing redistricting process undermines democracy by institutionalizing a powerful system of incumbent protection," Governor Rendell wrote in a letter to Sens. Anthony H. Williams (D-Philadelphia) and Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin), and Reps. Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia) and Mathew E. Baker (R-Bradford). "For every vote to truly count, we must have competitive elections where voters have the opportunity to choose between viable candidates. I am convinced that the only way to ensure meaningful elections is to take politics out of the process of drawing legislative boundaries...

*****
A call to action
Time is short to reform Pennsylvania's corrupted process for drawing legislative districts Wednesday, June 11, 2008 By Suzanne Broughton Election districts in Pennsylvania are a sight to behold. In the Pittsburgh region, Legislative District 16 starts in Beaver County and snakes down... - POST-GAZ.( 235219/208466 )


Josephs has it wrong on redistricting
The June 4 letter ("Reform in name only") from Rep. Babette Josephs (D., Phila.) attempts to explain why she, as chair of the House State Government Committee, blocked a vote on an essential redistricting reform bill. Regrettably, her letter contains numerous errors and omissions.... -INQUIRER (235288/208535

Editorial: Public Notices
Keep them where the audience is From the fearless lawmakers in Harrisburg who brought you the midnight pay hike, comes the latest way to operate in the dark. State Sen. Bob Robbins (R, Mercer) has proposed a bill that would allow local governments to place all legal notices online rather than in... - INQUIRER (235287/208534)


League of Women Voters of PA
226 Forster Street
Harrisburg, PA 17102
info@palwv.org
717-234-1576 or 1-800-564-6598 x 10
Fax: 717-234-8341
website: www.palwv.org

Very Bad News for Voters in PA

It looks like Redistricting may have to wait another decade, while our votes are being dealt like cards. Check out this article and then call or email the legislators who are responsible for tabling the bill (click here for email address info from PA House):

SENATE SIDETRACKS ESSENTIAL REFORM BILL AS CLOCK RUNS DOWN

Government Integrity Organizations Fear Unified Effort by Legislative Leaders
Will Block Competitive Elections and Protect Incumbents

Led by Minority Chairman Anthony Williams (D-Philadelphia) the Senate State Government Committee tabled SB-346, a bill designed to end the massive gerrymandering abuses in Pennsylvania. The four Democratic members of the committee were joined by three Republican members in the vote to table the bill. This action could spell the death of this essential reform measure which faces a mid-July deadline for passage. Committee chairman, Jeffrey Piccola (R-Dauphin), offered a strengthening amendment to the bill sponsored by Senator Lisa Boscola (D-Lehigh).

Meanwhile, in the House, State Government Committee Chairman Babette Josephs (D-Philadelphia) pulled a similar bill (HB-2420) from the voting calendar last Thursday. Rep. Steve Samuelson, (D-Lehigh) who drafted this compromise measure by compiling the best elements of all other related bills has been attempting to get the bill rescheduled for debate and vote, but has been unsuccessful.

“This is one of those key issues wherein the leaders of both parties unite against the voters to ensure that lawmakers will be able to continue to pick their voters, thus eliminating choices on the ballot, making elections less competitive and ultimately government less accountable” said Barry Kauffman, Executive Director of Common Cause/PA.

Bonita Hoke, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters agreed by saying
“Pennsylvania reputedly is the second worst state in the nation, after Georgia, for contorting the shape of legislative districts to protect incumbents and party stronghold.” The League of Women Voters of PA and Common Cause/PA have been working for nearly two decades to end this decennial abuse of power by legislative leaders. The reform measures would depoliticize the redistricting process, and protect the integrity of natural communities in the state. “In the end the voters and taxpayers are the winners if these redistricting reforms are enacted. Accountable government can be achieved only when we have competitive elections, and competitive elections can be achieved only whenPennsylvania institutes a fair non-partisan redistricting system.”

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Chris Leswing to speak at LWV of Lower Merion and Narberth, Annual Meeting May 3, 2008

Save the date! All are invited. The May Meeting is from 10 AM until Noon at Elaine Giese's home, 133 Edgewood Road, Ardmore RSVP Barbara Ritchie 610-525-3809

Our guest Speaker is Chris Leswing.

Chris Leswing is the LMT Assistant Director of Building and Planning. He will update us on development of the new township comprehensive plan, still a work in progress.

He will describe some of the plan's exciting elements, such as the "emerald necklace" trails proposals and implementation of the R-6 rail-to-trail along the Schuylkilll River. Completion of the plan is expected to take another couple of years, so League members will have a chance to continue taking part in this vital process for shaping our township's future.

* * * *

Members and Students Needed in Effort to Get the Vote Out with
Smartvoter
click here to watch Olivia's smartvoter movie on You Tube

click here to check out smartvoter.org

At a local County LWV meeting it was decided that we would try smartvoter. Smartvoter originates with the LWV of California. The purpose of smartvoter is similar to vote411, where infomation is given to the voter based on their address or county. However, they can also access information about candidates which is new.

Smartvoter differs in that candidates put up any information they have such as a link to their website, videos, and answering the questions that come from National LWV.

We do not nave the resources to check the content and interface with candidates, so we are asking for members to come forward and volunteer. Student volunteers/interns are welcome.

Redistricting and Education Funding Discussed at Length
Legislative Interviews LWV LMN 2008

Click here to view all the event photos in Scrapbook 2008
Click here to see a map indicating the shape of our legislative districts
See articles in Main Line Life (front page) and Main Line Times (p.3)

Legislators discussing redistricting. L-R, State Senator Connie Williams, Representative Daylin Leach, Representative Kathy Manderino, Representative Mike Gerber, and Carol Snow, LWV LMN president, at head of table.
The LWV LMN program notes included pictures of the extensive distortion of gerrymandered districts. The legislators discussed redistricting with the audience. Rep. Kathy Manderino made an interesting point about the shape of districts. although we think of the irregularly shaped districts as being problematic, she noted that a district could look like a comfortable rectangle and still be an issue as regards the rights of the voters to competetive district elections.

To View the 2008 Questions for Legislators click here

Elizabeth McLean Honored by League and State of Pennsylvania at the Legislative Interviews

click here for the full scrapbook 2008

Members and Students Needed in Effort to Get the Vote Out with
Smartvoter
click here to watch Olivia's smartvoter movie on You Tube

click here to check out smartvoter.org

At a local County LWV meeting it was decided that we would try smartvoter. Smartvoter originates with the LWV of California. The purpose of smartvoter is similar to vote411, where infomation is given to the voter based on their address or county. However, they can also access information about candidates which is new.

Smartvoter differs in that candidates put up any information they have such as a link to their website, videos, and answering the questions that come from National LWV.

We do not nave the resources to check the content and interface with candidates, so we are asking for members to come forward and volunteer. Student volunteers/interns are welcome.

Website Feedback:

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Thanks JG, we are glad that you were able to download the Voter Registration Form from this website, and print and mail it. –LWV of Lower Merion and Narberth

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