There's a NEW Gerrymandering Fight in Pennsylvania! We've been fighting legislative gerrymandering and now there's a proposal to create judicial districts which will result in Judicial Gerrymandering. An unprecedented Constitutional Amendment has been proposed to create judicial districts, enabling the party in control of the PA General Assembly (the GOP) to create an unnecessary new system that would favor judges from their party.

The proposed Amendment undermines the independence of our judges. Currently, PA appellate judges including the PA Supreme Court are elected by statewide vote, independent of the party in power within the Legislative and Executive branches. By creating Judicial Districts that are drawn by the legislature, there will be undue, partisan influence on our judges, upsetting our system of checks and balances.

We cannot allow this Amendment (HB38) to pass in the upcoming Legislative Session. The proposed Amendment has already passed once during the last session and must pass again in this session in order to proceed as a Constitutional Amendment. The bill has had essentially no discussion, no public comments, and most Pennsylvanians aren't even aware that it's being pushed ahead against our wishes.

Bucks County voices are particularly important! In order to defeat this bill, we need focus on the few remaining moderate republicans in the PA legislature. Many of them are in Bucks County, making it particularly important that they hear from you. Of course if you're outside Bucks, or even if your reps are against the bill, it's still important for them to hear from you, their constituent.

SEND A LETTER TODAY TO STOP THIS BILL (HB38) FROM UNDERMINING JUDICIAL INDEPENDENCE!

Remember:

• This bill would silence 9 million PA voters - rather than having a say with each statewide judge who makes decisions for all PA residents, this bill would take away our ability to vote on 90% of the judges
• Justice should be blind, not rigged - giving the Legislature control over the courts creates partisanship in a branch of government whose role is to provide an independent check to the other two branches
• Election by district is unnecessary - our appellate judges make decisions for all of us based on the law, not based on the representation of local interests
• Legal experts do not support this bill - this bill is being rammed through with no debate, no consultation with legal experts, no support from legal groups, and many former judges - Republican and Democrat - all oppose this plan
• This plan is bad for our democracy - when elected officials in the General Assembly have too much power over the courts, it undermines judicial independence and that's bad for our democracy, no matter who or what party is in charge.

Use the form to send a letter to your legislators. There is a sample letter to make this quick and easy for you. Then forward this action to your PA friends and share on social media.