Justice Samuel Alito rejected a Republican plea to block an order from the state supreme court to devise new congressional districts

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The supreme court on Monday allowed Pennsylvania congressional redistricting to proceed, denying a Republican plea and dealing another blow to GOP prospects in November’s midterm elections.

Pennsylvania supreme court rejects GOP-drawn congressional districts Read more

Justice Samuel Alito rejected emergency appeals from Republican state leaders and voters to block an order from the state supreme court to devise new congressional districts.

Last month, the Pennyslvania supreme court struck down the congressional map drawn following the 2010 census by Republicans who controlled the legislature and governor’s office.



In a startling example of political gerrymandering, redistricting designed to favour one party, the Republicans broke decades of geographical precedent to produce contorted district shapes including one that critics said resembled “Goofy kicking Donald Duck”.

There are 18 Pennsylvania districts, which Republicans control 13-5 despite registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans five to four in the state.

The Democratic-controlled state supreme court said the current boundaries “clearly, plainly and palpably” violated the Pennsylvania constitution, and blocked the map from remaining in effect for the 2018 elections.

The deadline to file paperwork to run in primaries is 6 March.



The court gave the Republican-controlled state legislature until 9 February to pass a replacement and the Democratic governor, Tom Wolf, until 15 February to submit that replacement to the court. After that deadline, state justices might draw up their own map.

The supreme court typically does not review state court decisions based on a state’s constitution. But Pennsylvania Republicans asked the high court to make an exception. Alito handles emergency appeals from Pennsylvania.

The supreme court is currently weighing whether redistricting can be so partisan that it violates the US constitution, in cases from Maryland and Wisconsin.