As part of their legal action against the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, two Pennsylvania Republican Lawmakers have filed an emergency application to put Pennsyvlania’s congressional district map put together by the state supreme court on hold for now.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Turzai and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati filed the emergency action to Justice Samuel Alito of the US Supreme Court, claiming that both the ruling of the PA Supreme Court that the 2011 congressional district map was unconstitutional and how they drew the map was done illegally. They say that the court put rules in place that are not part of the constitutional requirements for redistricting in the state, and the court did not give the PA General Assembly enough time to put a map in place.
Both Turzai and Scarnati had filed an appeal to the US Supreme Court but Justice Alito denied the appeal before it could be brought before the full court. Turzai said now that the map is released, their case is stronger.
The redrawn map would affect the campaign of Congressional Candidate and House Majority Leader Dave Reed, as Indiana County would become part of a 13-county mega-district, and it would also mean that if he wanted to continue his run for Congress, he would have to go against Glenn GT Thompson, the current 5th district Congressman out of Centre County.
Right now, Reed is waiting the results of this lawsuit and a second lawsuit filed by the National Republican Congressional Committee and other state lawmakers separate from the lawsuit filed by Turzai and Scarnati. It is not known if Reed is part of this second lawsuit.
