Recently the supervisors of Eldred Township heard from Barbara Keiser, president of the Monroe County League of Women Voters, who spoke in support of “fair districting.” Keiser addressed the century-old use of gerrymandering, which permits voter districts to be drawn along party lines rather than population or geography.

“Gerrymandering allows the elected officials to choose the voters, rather than the voters choosing the candidate,” Keiser said. “This has been around for years, but the use of GPS and current mapping technology is making it easier.”

Keiser asked the supervisors for their support of PA Senate Bill 22 and PA House Bill 722, asking for a “fair, fully transparent, impartial and depoliticized process of decennial drawing of state Legislature and congressional districts of near equal population.”

After taking a few comments from the floor, the supervisors agreed to adopt Resolution 2017-10 in favor of the legislation which would amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to create a citizen’s board to a redistricting commission.

The supervisors also adopted Resolution 2017-11, which will greatly lower the township’s Highway Occupancy Permit costs to be more in line with those charged by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.