State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch was walking through security at the Bank of Springfield Center on his way to the makeshift Illinois House floor the morning of Jan. 11 when
State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch was walking through security at the Bank of Springfield Center on his way to the makeshift Illinois House floor the morning of Jan. 11 when
, a project focused on election integrity and voting access.
HARRISBURG â A proposal moving through the GOP-led Pennsylvania legislature could soon make the state an extreme outlier in the country by allowing lawmakers to exert more control over the state Supreme Court and other appellate courts.
The measure, which could be before voters as soon as May, calls for abolishing statewide elections for appellate court judges and replacing them with races in partisan districts determined by lawmakers and redrawn every 10 years.
A 50-state review by Spotlight PA and Votebeat, as well as interviews with judicial and academic experts, found only two other states â Illinois and Louisiana â employ such a system, which has increased partisan campaign fights and given special interests and dark money groups more of a foothold to affect the outcome of races.
This article is part of a yearlong reporting project focused on redistricting and gerrymandering in Pennsylvania. It’s made possible by the support of Spotlight PA members and Votebeat, a project focused on election integrity and voting access. HARRISBURG A proposal moving through the GOP-led Pennsylvania legislature could soon make the state an extreme outlier in the country by allowing .