Today, the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court ruled that state’s Congressional district map did not adhere to the state’s Constitution. Along with the ruling, the Court banned the use of the current map and demanded that a new map be drawn by February 15th. The state legislature, being Republican controlled, has said it will attempt to overturn the decision in a federal court. However, such an appeal may not pass, as the court ruled the map in violation of the state constitution.

The map was ruled unconstitutional because of its partisan gerrymandering, meaning that the Republican representatives drew district lines in a way that favored their party over the Democrats. The court, however, did not give specific reasoning for their ruling, which was 5-2 along party lines. We can expect a more thorough explanation later this week. If the ruling stands, Democrats stand to gain multiple seats in the United States Congress.

This news comes as courts have ruled against Wisconsin’s state legislature map and North Carolina’s congressional map. Both invalidations were due to gerrymandering. You can read more about the court ruling here.

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