Public release of Pennsylvania’s new Congressional maps delayed

The first public glimpse at new boundaries for the commonwealth’s congressional districts was supposed to be this morning. The meeting was cancelled less than two hours before its scheduled time.

It’s going to take state and congressional lawmakers a little longer tostrike a deal. Discussions over redistricting are ongoing, according to the state Senate GOP spokesman, who said his caucusis “optimistic” the proposed maps will be unveiled tomorrow.

Terry Madonna, a political science professor at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster County, said it’s not good news that this is the third time the unveiling of the maps has been delayed. “That translates into indecision on the part of legislative leaders and resulting in the fact that if you want to run for Congress and you’re not quite sure what district you’ll be in, that makes that very hard to do,” Maddona said.Congressional redistricting is handled like any piece of legislation. The bill would have to be passed before late January, when congressional hopefuls can start passing around petitions for their nomination. Madonna said in the past, that period has been pushed back to allow more time for redistricting talks.