The deciding vote in Pa.’s high-stakes political redistricting could be yours, if lawmakers agree – By Marie Albiges (Spotlight PA) / April 6 2021
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It is made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access.
HARRISBURG — Liz Forrest doesn’t expect four of Pennsylvania’s most powerful lawmakers will pick her — a semi-retired technology consultant and failed state legislative candidate from Pike County — to be the potentially deciding vote in how they redraw their political districts this year.
Past chairs of the Capitol’s redistricting commission have included Ivy League law professors and retired judges. Beyond settling politically charged disputes, the chair is in a position to cast the tie-breaking vote on state House and Senate maps that determine which voters go where, which communities are split apart, and which lawmakers have a shot at getting re-elected.
“I doubt seriously they really are looking for ‘somebody like me,’” Forrest said. “I’m just going to put my name in, and it either works or it doesn’t.”
