Map source, Davesredistricting.org
On Wednesday (January 12), the Pennsylvania House approved HB2146, which calls for the creation of 17 new U.S. House Districts. Pennsylvania previously had 18 U.S. House Districts, but lost one seat as a result of the 2020 Census.
The proposal passed on a vote of 110-91. All of the Democrats voted Nay along with two Republicans.
This attempt at redistricting puts all of Lower Merion in Madeleine Dean’s 4th Congressional District. Currently, about half of Lower Merion and all of Narberth are in Dean’s district, which also includes most of Montgomery County.
However, nearly half of Lower Merion is now inthe 5th Congressional District, represented by Mary Gay Scanlon. Currently, the 5th District includes all of Delaware County and parts of South Philadelphia and Chester County. The new map still shows all of Delaware County in the 5th, but to make up for the part of Lower Merion that’s been moved into the 4th District, much larger areas of South Philadelphia and Chester County are now included in the 5th District.