Pennsylvania

Racial Representation
Of Pennsylvania's voting population of 4,858,104, 9.5% are black and 3.0% are Latino.  Under the current 19-district system, black voters make up the majority of one district.  There is currently one black representative from Pennsylvania.  Under the proposed super districting plan, black voters are well-positioned to elect a candidate of choice in Super District B.		 Political Analysis
In the 2000 Presidential election, Al Gore won Pennsylvania with 51% of the vote over George W. Bush's 46%.  The state's Democratic partisanship is 52.7%.  Under the current 19-district system, six districts can be considered Democratic, six can be considered Republican, and seven can be considered competitive.  Under the proposed super districting plan, voters would likely elect eight Democrats, six Republicans, and five candidates who could come from either party.

 

SUPER DISTRICT A - FIVE SEATS
     

            2000 Presidential Vote

     % Black % Latino
State CD Bush (%) Gore (%) Other (%) Total Origin Origin
Pennsylvania 4 152313 (52.0%) 134688 (45.9%) 6167 (2.1%) 293168 3.4% 0.6%
Pennsylvania 9 149393 (64.0%) 80008 (34.3%) 4079 (1.7%) 233480 1.6% 0.9%
Pennsylvania 12 105451 (43.8%) 131960 (54.8%) 3595 (1.5%) 241006 3.3% 0.6%
Pennsylvania 14 74085 (28.1%) 183640 (69.6%) 6007 (2.3%) 263732 22.5% 1.1%
Pennsylvania 18 154252 (51.6%) 139346 (46.6%) 5240 (1.8%) 298838 2.0% 0.6%
Total   635494 (47.8%) 669642 (50.3%) 25088 (1.9%) 1330224 6.5% 0.8%

Winning Percentage:

16.7%
Voting Rights Analysis: Racial minority voters would likely not be able to control their representation.
District Partisanship: 51.9% This super district would likely elect two Democrats and two
Republicans with one swing seat.

 

SUPER DISTRICT B - FIVE SEATS
     

            2000 Presidential Vote

     % Black % Latino
State CD Bush (%) Gore (%) Other (%) Total Origin Origin
Pennsylvania 1 31722 (14.7%) 181274 (84.0%) 2679 (1.2%) 215675 44.9% 15.0%
Pennsylvania 2 29458 (11.6%) 221517 (87.0%) 3529 (1.4%) 254504 60.8% 3.0%
Pennsylvania 8 130500 (14.7%) 144878 (84.0%) 9050 (1.2%) 284428 3.4% 2.3%
Pennsylvania 13 117773 (14.7%) 155903 (84.0%) 5972 (1.2%) 279648 5.9% 3.1%
Pennsylvania 15 116817 (47.7%) 119393 (48.7%) 8865 (3.6%) 245075 2.8% 7.9%
Total   426270 (14.7%) 822965 (84.0%) 30095 (1.2%) 1279330 22.2% 5.8%

Winning Percentage:

16.7%
Voting Rights Analysis: Black voters are well-positioned to elect a candidate of choice.
District Partisanship: 65.9% This super district would likely elect three Democrats and one
Republican with one swing seat.

 

SUPER DISTRICT C - THREE SEATS
     

            2000 Presidential Vote

     % Black % Latino
State CD Bush (%) Gore (%) Other (%) Total Origin Origin
Pennsylvania 3 127598 (51.0%) 116118 (46.5%) 6233 (2.5%) 249949 3.5% 1.3%
Pennsylvania 5 137837 (59.1%) 89180 (38.2%) 6197 (2.7%) 233214 1.3% 0.8%
Pennsylvania 10 140387 (56.4%) 100754 (40.5%) 7887 (3.2%) 249028 1.9% 1.4%
Total   405822 (55.4%) 306052 (41.8%) 20317 (2.8%) 732191 2.3% 1.2%

Winning Percentage:

25%
Voting Rights Analysis: No racial minority could control their representation.
District Partisanship: 43.4% This super district would likely elect one Democrat and one
Republican with one swing seat.

 

SUPER DISTRICT D - THREE SEATS
     

            2000 Presidential Vote

     % Black % Latino
State CD Bush (%) Gore (%) Other (%) Total Origin Origin
Pennsylvania 6 129318 (48.7%) 130472 (49.2%) 5589 (2.1%) 265379 6.7% 3.5%
Pennsylvania 7 140862 (47.2%) 150805 (50.5%) 6945 (2.3%) 298612 5.4% 1.3%
Pennsylvania 16 144862 (62.1%) 82729 (35.5%) 5713 (2.4%) 233304 4.0% 9.2%
Total   415042 (52.1%) 364006 (45.7%) 18247 (2.3%) 797295 5.4% 4.3%

Winning Percentage:

25%
Voting Rights Analysis: Racial minority voters would likely not be able to control their representation.
District Partisanship: 47.3% This super district would likely elect one Democrat and one
Republican with one swing seat.

 

SUPER DISTRICT E - THREE SEATS
     

            2000 Presidential Vote

     % Black % Latino
State CD Bush (%) Gore (%) Other (%) Total Origin Origin
Pennsylvania 11 101629 (43.1%) 127140 (53.9%) 6983 (3.0%) 235752 2.5% 2.5%
Pennsylvania 17 139932 (55.9%) 103603 (41.4%) 6994 (2.8%) 250529 7.3% 3.2%
Pennsylvania 19 135892 (58.4%) 90125 (38.7%) 6766 (2.9%) 232783 2.9% 2.7%
Total   377453 (52.5%) 320868 (44.6%) 20743 (2.9%) 719064 4.3% 2.8%

Winning Percentage:

25%
Voting Rights Analysis: Racial minority voters would likely not be able to control their representation.
District Partisanship: 46.2% This super district would likely elect one Democrat and one
Republican with one swing seat.

 

This proposal is based on the current congressional districts of Pennsylvania.  Because current congressional districts are often the results of gerrymandering, the proposed super district boundaries are not as smooth and nice-looking as they could be in a similar proposal that made use of sub-congressional district data.