Special elections for representatives complicate Pennsylvania redistricting [View all]
Special elections next year may leave some Pennsylvanians wondering who speaks for them in the state House of Representatives.
The elections will decide who should replace six state representatives who are stepping down early. House officials said today that the new lawmakers will be picked by voters in districts redrawn under the 2012 redistricting plan not the voters who elected the incumbents just last year.
The constitutionally required plan, which was approved by a special panel earlier this month and awaits ratification by the state Supreme Court, would reshuffle House and Senate districts to reflect population shifts based on the 2010 census.
Once approved by the states highest court perhaps as early as January, but later if appeals are filed the maps will be the basis for not only the special House elections but for primary and general elections for the next decade.
more: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/12/special_elections_for_represen.html