On Monday, the US Supreme Court formally rejected a request to block the re-drawing of the US Congressional Districts in Pennsylvania, meaning the new districts drawn by the State Supreme Court will go into effect in time for the Spring Primary.
In January, the state supreme court ruled that Pennsylvania’s congressional districts were unfairly drawn to favor Republicans, and ordered Governor Wolf and the General Assembly to re-draw the map by February 19th. The state Republican party requested a stay from the US Supreme Court to delay drawing the new boundaries, but that request was denied. As the deadline lapsed, the State Supreme Court drew the district map themselves, which was released on the 19th of February.
Yesterday, the US Supreme Court rejected the request to block the implementation of the new map, and a similar request for an injunction against the decision was blocked by a PA Federal District Court.
A statement made by Republican State House Speaker Mike Turzai said that they acknowledged the Supreme Court Order, and still disagree with the decision rendered by the courts. He added that they will respect the decision made by the Supreme Court and will “move on to other issues of importance”.
