Benninghoff says No to the Redraw

The five-person commission redrawing Pennsylvania General Assembly district lines gave its approval on Monday to adjusted and validated census-based data they will use to craft preliminary maps over the coming months. It voted 4-1 to certify census data that shifts just under 27,000 state prison inmates back to their home districts for the maps that will be used for state legislative elections during the coming decade. The “no” vote was cast by House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Centre. Although Benninghoff did not say why at the meeting, an aide later said it was because he believes the prisoner reallocation is on shaky legal ground and that dealing with what he considers extraneous issues is causing delays that could affect next spring’s primary.