Division of Municipalities is Wrong
The House district map makes drastic changes in a number of areas of the state that are not warranted and appear to be unconstitutional. The Pennsylvania Constitution reads as follows regarding legislative districts: Unless absolutely necessary no county, city, incorporated town, borough, township or ward shall be divided in forming either a senatorial or representative district. (Apr. 23, 1968, P.L.App.3, Prop. No.1) The proposed maps ignore this constitutional mandate and divide small cities that do not need to be divided. An example is Lancaster, with a population of approx 60,000. Since the ideal district is similar to that of the city of Lancaster, a compact and unified municipality, splitting it to combine its parts with mostly rural surrounding areas looks like is contrary to the Constitution, as quoted above. Similarly, combining rural districts that are stable or growing to add a seat to Philadelphia is wrong. Please redraw this map to keep the municipalities together, and avoid moving such a large portion--a third of the population of the state — into new legislative districts.