The Supreme Court has declined to block a redrawing of Pennsylvania’s congressional districts. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled in January that the State’s map had to be redrawn because it was contrived in a way that heavily favored the Republican Party. It gave lawmakers until February 9 to submit a new map to Governor Tom Wolf, who is a Democrat.
Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania asked the U.S. Supreme Court to give them more time in redrawing the districts. They also challenged the lower court’s authority to redraw new districts, saying the Constitution gives that authority only to state legislatures and not courts. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court had said that they would redraw the districts if the legislature and the governor could not agree on one.
The request to stay the lower court’s decision went before Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito who oversees the circuit that includes Pennsylvania, the 3rd. Alito rejected the request without referring it to the whole court.