The 14th & 18th Senatorial Dist Appear Gerrymanded
The proposed Senatorial Districts 14 and 18 combine both city, suburban, boroughs and rural areas. The urban areas have predominantly the larger pool of voters with registrations more favorable to one party. This negates the voting capabilities and interests of the suburban, borough and rural residents of Lehigh and Northampton County and ensures basically a stronger influence of the urban areas of Bethlehem, Easton, and Allentown at the expense of the voters outside these cities. The elected state senator will be more influenced by the city voters than the rural areas and more than likely be guaranteed election by the party representing the cities which one could deem as “gerrymandering.” Accordingly, it is proposed that these two senatorial districts be redrawn horizontally where one district (18th) combines the urban districts of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton and the northern districts above these cities be combined into the other senatorial district (14th). This would ensure that all the voters would be in districts more compatible with interests and issues related to them. It would also remove the division imposed on the citizens of Bethlehem City who as currently proposed are divided into two different senatorial districts.c The commission must take into account that combining rural and city areas in one district now creates a disparately among voters similar to racial and ethnic discrimination.