Rep. Bizzarro: Another GOP power grab - when “find the votes” turns into “draw the lines”

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The November 2020 election had the highest turnout and was the most secure that we’ve ever seen. Yet former President Donald J. Trump was prepared to do everything possible to win, even lie about fraud, silence voices, and throw out votes. He demanded others to “find the votes” after the election didn’t go his way.

Now that we have fresh census numbers collected during the Trump administration, it’s time to go through the redistricting process. In Pennsylvania, an independent commission goes through this democratic process transparently and with bipartisan support.

The newly commissioned district maps are out, and they favor Republicans, but extreme Republican lawmakers are saying it’s not enough and are attempting to “draw the lines." Decades of gerrymandering are about to be undone, but the GOP says the game isn’t fair if they can’t cheat.

More: How the proposed Pennsylvania state House map scores in every required measurement

That’s right, extreme Republicans controlling our legislature are taking us back 60 years, when there was only absolute power and no redistricting process. Their plan, if successful, would make a redistricting process that’s been enshrined in our Constitution a sham and ruin the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania where the very tenets of democracy were created in 1776.

Prior to 1968, the Pennsylvania legislature went decades without drawing appropriate maps. This was problematic because over time, districts gain or lose population and as a result, citizen voices are diluted because they don’t have equal representation. New maps are drawn to keep the population in each district roughly even, as required by the U.S. Supreme Court.

More: Pennsylvania GOP's election probe is an unnecessary and wasteful fool's errand

The independent redistricting commission was created so that our government truly represents the people it serves. In Pennsylvania, 39% of registered voters are Republican, yet the GOP controls 59% of the state House seats. The GOP has controlled the legislature for 23 of the last 27 years and they’re not about to give up now, just because the maps only give them a slight advantage.

More: Let population, not politics guide Pennsylvania House redistricting

Which brings us to the extreme Republicans in Harrisburg. They’ve introduced a bill that would rewrite the process and turn back the clock to make Pennsylvania a commonwealth with one party with absolute power. The general public and people who’ve fought for years for good government and fair maps are left outside looking in yet again.

Extremists in the GOP want to make a redistricting commission that is appointed by the majority and prepared to do anything to draw lines that benefit them. Worse, this is the 59th constitutional amendment they have introduced this session. Rather than respect the separation of powers, they are legislating by referendum in another end run around democracy.

It’s a blatant grab for power and a disgrace to our forefathers. The bills they’ve concocted could take effect in 2024 and solidify a radical-right majority in the legislature forever. That’s not democracy; it’s an autocracy. It’s cheating.

Just as the former president asked secretaries of state to “find the votes” in 2020, extreme Republicans in Pennsylvania are trying to “draw the lines” that benefit them. It goes against every tenet of the American democracy forged here in the Keystone State.

What these extreme Republicans are doing is seeking power for the sake of power. They’re doing what the former president did — doing whatever it takes to win, even if that means silencing your vote and your voice. Pennsylvanians deserve better.

Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, D-3rd Dist., represents a portion of Erie County.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Rep. Bizzarro: GOP using redistricting amendment to grab full control