Drawing the Lines: How redistricting reform will improve Pennsylvania and restore citizen’s trust in government.

The Discussions on Governance Lecture Series

David Thornburgh, President and CEO of the Committee of Seventy.

Drawing the Lines: How redistricting reform will improve Pennsylvania and restore citizen’s trust in government.

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Over the last 4 years, the once-arcane topic of redistricting reform-drawing election maps in a transparent, accessible and accountable process—has improbably captured the hearts and minds of tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians.  As we anticipate the 2021 Census, and the election maps that will be drawn from those numbers, time is short for legislative leaders to take action.  But citizen energy around this issue is at an all-time high and dozens of legislators from both parties have called for reform, and several proposals are now circulating in our state capitol.  Why does redistricting reform matter, and what we can do about it, and what’s likely to happen?

David is the second son of Dick and Ginny Thornburgh and is the President and CEO of the Committee of Seventy, the longstanding nonpartisan advocate for better government based in Philadelphia.  With the support of Pennsylvania foundations, in 2018 the Committee of Seventy created Draw the Lines PA, a statewide public mapping competition that has engaged over 5,000 Pennsylvanians, as young as 14,  in drawing their own congressional maps.  Draw the Lines PA has demonstrated that Pennsylvanians are ready, willing, and able to share in the work of drawing election maps.  Thornburgh was also appointed by Governor Wolf to chair the PA Redistricting Reform Commission, whose 2019 report advanced a “Pennsylvania Plan” for redistricting reform that brings more transparency and independence to the process.