Protect the 74th Legislative District
Pennsylvania Redistricting Commission Members: I commend the commission on their efforts to correct decades of district lines that thwarted the democratic process. It is empowering to see so many State House seats being drawn to be fair and to level the playing field and open the door for a House of Representatives that more accurately represents the diversity of Pennsylvanians. EXCEPT The 74th Legislative District. One of the goals of the redistricting process is to create minority opportunity areas which will allow our constituents of color to elect representatives that truly represent them and their concerns. In the current 74th this goal is a reality. The current representative from this district is the only Chester County State Representative who is a person of color. The new 74th Legislative District lines drastically changes the demographics of its voters. Current 74th District 60.17% White Voters 23.09% Black Voters 17.98% Other Voters New 74th District 66.55% White Voters 20.32% Black Voters 14.06% Other Voters The most striking aspect of these new lines is the efforts made to shift the demographics. The new lines remove Caln Township where people of color vote and include Honeybrook Township that is predominantly white and conservative. Caln Township is split to accomplish this, thus dividing a school district. One can conclude only one thing, the end goal was to ensure the 74th would no longer be represented by a person of color. I urge the commission to reconsider the lines drawn for the 74th Legislative District. We need to be clear that we support the diversity that is Pennsylvania and that does not happen when we blatantly maneuver to shut minority populations out. It is imperative that we support minority representation within Chester County. The new district lines do not accomplish this goal. I respectfully request you either return the 74th Legislative District to its’s current make-up redraw it without Honeybrook and return Caln Township. Thank you for your consideration. Molly Wood