Feb 12, 2016 4 min read

Although eyes and ears were focused on Republican and Democratic caucuses and primaries in Iowa and New Hampshire, respectively, half of the State Senate and all Pennsylvania legislative districts will be appearing on the ballot April 26 and Nov. 4, and the League of Women Voters of Washington County invited incumbents to talk about a slew of issues related to the election process.

At a forum convened after a luncheon at Citizens Library, Washington, league president Judy Hughes asked officials about the legislative reapportionment process that has often been branded as “gerrymandering.”

Despite the fact Pennsylvania has more registered Democrats than Republicans, the GOP holds majorities in both the General Assembly and Senate. The two Democrats present at the forum talked about their own experiences with legislative reapportionment. State Rep. Brandon Neuman, D-North Strabane, told of a rejected plan that carved a single voting precinct from his home municipality from the Washington-Canonsburg district.

State Rep. Pam Snyder, D-Jefferson, discussed the splitting of Greene County between the 18th and the sprawling 9th Congressional District, which went right through the middle of her home township, Morgan. The 9th Congressional District includes all or part of 10 counties and stretches to Franklin County in central Pennsylvania. She formerly worked for U.S. Rep. Frank Mascara, whose Congressional District was chopped up 15 years ago in such a way that his house was in one district and the spot where he parked his car was in another.

State Rep. Jim Christiana, R-Beaver, thought in 2012 he’d be running in part of Washington County, but a rejected reapportionment plan sent commission members back to the drawing board and new boundaries didn’t take effect until the 2014 election.

“It’s always going to be political,” Christiana said.

State Rep. Jason Ortitay, R-Bridgeville, said it’s a 90-minute drive across his district, which includes parts of northern Washington County and southern Allegheny County.

“I’d be open to discussion about that,” Ortitay said of changes in the reapportionment process, which takes place after each decennial census.

State Rep. Rick Saccone, R-Elizabeth, was the lone Republican at a similar League of Women Voters gathering two years ago when State Rep. John Maher, R-Upper St. Clair, whose district includes Peters Township, was unable to attend. Now, parts of Washington County are represented in the State House by four Republicans and three Democrats.

“I like the balance we have now,” Saccone said.

The 96-year-old league, according to its national website was formed as a “mighty political experiment” to help women carry out their then new responsibilities as voters with the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution so, not surprisingly, some questions dealt with the voting process.

The league queried legislators about the ability to vote by mail, sometimes called “no-fault absentee” balloting. This drew support from the majority of the incumbents.

“Let’s not disenfranchise people because they need to get the kids to the soccer game,” Maher said.

Several of the legislators expressed concerns about additional burdens that would be placed on local election boards if same-day voter registration were allowed and noted that it’s already difficult to recruit workers for elections.

Pennsylvania last year instituted online voter registration, but state law continues to require that voters register a full month before an election. Shortening this window drew the support of the majority of legislators attending Friday’s forum.

“People today have really short attention spans,” said State Rep. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll, whose 46th District seat is not on the ballot this year. On voter registration, she and Christiana mentioned upholding the integrity of the process.

Saccone encouraged moving elections from Tuesdays to Saturday, and Neuman said the state should consider allowing independents to vote in primaries. According to the Pennsylvanians for Fair Elections website, the state last year ranked 30th in voter turnout.

State Sen. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Jefferson Hills, and State Rep. Peter Daley, D-California, were not present Friday.