In Re Pennsylvania Congressional Districts Reapportionment Cases

567 F. Supp. 1507, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10247
District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania·Decided September 13, 1982·No. Civ. A. 82-0197·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

OPINION

WEIS, Circuit Judge.

This case presents us with the decennial issue of reapportionment. The plaintiffs challenge Act 42, which was enacted by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to reapportion the state’s congressional districts in accordance with data derived from the 1980 census. The question before us is whether the evidence adduced requires us to tread our way through the political thicket or whether the facts permit us to exercise judicial restraint and stop at the edge. Although precise numerical equality was not achieved for each district, we conclude that there was sufficient compliance with the constitutional mandate so that judicial intervention is not required.

We earlier refused to issue a preliminary injunction which would have halted the primary elections. 535 F.Supp. 191 (M.D.Pa.1982). We did so because of the imminence of the elections, and the lack of compelling statistical data on the extent of population deviation among the congressional districts under Act 42. However, the parties raised serious constitutional questions and expressed a desire to present a more complete record. Consequently, we scheduled a hearing on the request for a permanent injunction. Pursuant to our directions, the evidence in this proceeding was submitted largely in the form of affidavits and depositions, supplemented by in-court cross-exam *1509 ination of certain witnesses. We have also had the benefit of extensive argument and briefing by counsel.

The augmented record does not present substantially different relevant evidence from what was previously presented to us. For ease of reference, however, we will include in this opinion the dispositive factual matters from both hearings. 1

In 1981, the Governor of Pennsylvania was advised by the President that, as result of the 1980 census, Pennsylvania was entitled to 23 seats in Congress. This represents a reduction of two seats and required the state’s congressional districts to be reapportioned.

On March 25, 1981, the Census Bureau forwarded the official data from the 1980 census disclosing that the state’s population is 11,866,728. Based on this figure, an ideal congressional district would contain 515,944 persons. Utilizing these statistics, the legislature began its reapportionment task. After considering and vigorously debating various plans, Act 42 was passed, and signed into law on March 4, 1982. It provides for 23 districts, the largest of which, the 21st, has 701 persons above the ideal number. The smallest, the Ninth, has 514 below that figure. The total numerical difference between the highest and lowest districts is 1215. Statewide, the average variation from the ideal figure is 253 persons, expressed in percentages as .0490%. The percentage of deviation between the largest and smallest district is .2354%.

On October 22, 1981, the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Legislative Data Processing Center received revised information from the Census Bureau. The population figures for seventeen municipalities in the state were modified, but the data did not include a racial breakdown, as did the March 1981 figures. The October 1981 revisions were not communicated to the legislature by the Data Processing Center, and so did not form the basis for any of the reapportionment plans introduced in either the House or the Senate.

The revised census figures place the total state population at 11,863,895. Based on these figures, an ideal congressional district would include 515,822 persons. Applying the October revisions to Act 42, the largest district, the 21st, now has 824 persons above the ideal, while the smallest, the 16th, has 1236 below. The numerical deviation between the high and low districts is 2,060. Statewide, the average variation is 364 persons — an average percentage of .0700%. The difference between the largest and smallest district, expressed in percentages, is .399%.

The Pennsylvania legislature considered at least sixteen apportionment plans, and debated and voted on eleven different proposals to reapportion the congressional districts. Three of the plans voted on in either the House or the Senate had lower percentage variations than Act 42. The deviations ranged from .0895% to .1208%. One of them was sponsored by the Republican leadership and two by the Democrats. S.B. 805, P.N. 1579, had a deviation of .1208%. It was passed by the House of Representatives, but defeated in the Senate. In fact, all the other proposals were rejected by the legislature for various reasons, such as splitting the City of Pittsburgh into three separate congressional districts, and low percentages of black voters in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh districts. Three other plans with a lower deviation than Act 42 were also considered, but did not come to a vote.

The Republican party had bare majorities in both the House and Senate, but was unable to pass a reapportionment bill in the House without Democratic support. One of the major issues which impeded passage of legislation arose out of the need to pit incumbents against each other. For example, Philadelphia was an obvious locality for the elimination of a seat because of its loss in population. Even so, since the final configuration would affect the election prospects *1510 of two incumbents, substantial disagreement was provoked by the necessity of putting them in the position of vying for a single seat. The desire to maintain a predominantly black district within the City, which would preserve the reelection chances of the incumbent black congressman, also led to difficulties in drawing district lines.

Other local considerations entered into the debates as well, such as attempting to avoid fragmentation of county and municipality boundaries, and retention of voters within the districts to which they had elected congressional incumbents. Finally, partisan considerations played a vital role in the proposed districting plans. Some were drawn to give a particular party a hoped for advantage in the forthcoming election, or to match two incumbents from the same party against each other. This latter consideration was particularly evident in western Pennsylvania, where much of the skirmishing concerned proposals that a Democrat oppose a Republican or that two Democrats oppose each other.

Interspersed throughout the debates were frequent references to the fact that, however the lines were drawn, the population between the districts had to be “basically in the same numbers. That is the established criteria on Federal congressional reapportionment and the most salient of the considerations.” 2 The legislative journals also reveal that the debates focused on the undesirability of diluting the voting strength of minorities, particularly black citizens. The only black congressman in Pennsylvania was elected from a district in Philadelphia with a 74.7% black population.

Act 42 had a number of effects on minority voting strength. In Philadelphia, the boundaries of the Second district were redrawn so that its black population was increased to 80.0%. This district includes the residence of the incumbent black congressman. In the old First district, the black population was 44.7%, and in the old Third district, it was 32.4% black.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

In Re Pennsylvania Congressional Districts Reapportionment Cases, 567 F. Supp. 1507, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10247 (M.D. Pa. 1982).

567 F. Supp. 1507 (In Re Pennsylvania Congressional Districts Reapportionment Cases) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Mellow v. Mitchell
607 A.2d 204 (Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, 1992)
Hastert v. State Board of Elections
777 F. Supp. 634 (N.D. Illinois, 1991)
Major v. Treen
574 F. Supp. 325 (E.D. Louisiana, 1983)