Don't gerrymander Pennsyvanians!
We must throw out gerrymandering, in favor of fair, competitive districts that have practical shapes, allowing congress members to realistically serve all of their constituents. Advances in computer-aided mapping first gave legislators the tools to grossly distort outcomes and protect incumbents, at the cost of diminishing the link between the elected officials in our democracy and their voters/community. Now those same tools have become available to the community, via advocacy groups such as Draw the Lines PA. Mathematicians have looked at Gerrymandering in the public interest, showing what makes one, and in contrast, what makes a good district. This issue is now so well understood, that any attempted gerrymander will be found out by the public. Moreover, the public understands how to do better. Much better. By the way, this is not rocket science. It takes care, thoughtfulness, and attention to multiple potential values. But it is eminently doable by grade schoolers on up, as Draw the Lines PA's mapping competitions have show for the past few years. Let it be known to those who are drawing the maps this time: We are watching, we are wiser than before, and we know you can do better. For everyone's sake, please do. Or folks will make a lot of noise about how the line-drawers cynically attempted to deny the good people of Pennsylvania fair maps, fair elections, and healthy politics. Let's do it right. We can, we know how, and we certainly know how NOT to do it. Don't disappoint the people of Pennsylvania. Thank you. P.S. it would be inappropriate to continue the practice of counting prisoners as members of the towns/districts their prisons are located in. It allows over-incarceration to dilute the power of minority and poor communities, while many prisoners do not have the right to vote as felons currently serving time. Prison gerrymandering makes a farce of fair district sizes. We must count prisoners where they lived before they were jailed.