HARRISBURG, Pa. – A ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court could result in a new election district map in the Keystone State. Experts say Pennsylvania has one of the most gerrymandered congressional and legislative district maps in the country.

Although voters are pretty evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, the GOP controls 13 of the state's 18 congressional seats.

Mimi McKenzie, legal director of the Public Interest Law Center, which represents individual voters in the case, says the ruling could pave the way for major changes by next November.

"If we are successful in proving our case to the court, then Pennsylvania voters will have a new and fair map in time for the 2018 election," she says.

The trial is scheduled to begin on December 11.

The Commonwealth Court had put the case on hold pending the outcome of a Wisconsin gerrymandering case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. But according to McKenzie, a ruling on the federal case would not change a decision by the state court in Pennsylvania.

"We have filed claims under the free-expression and free-association clauses as well as the equal protection guarantees of the Pennsylvania Constitution, so, because we've brought different claims, the Wisconsin case can't moot our case," she explains.

Pennsylvania's congressional district maps are also being challenged in federal district court. Oral arguments in that case were heard last week.

McKenzie points out that in both the federal case and Commonwealth Court, judges have raised questions about a process that could yield the bizarrely-shaped districts that characterize Pennsylvania's electoral maps.

"That didn't happen by chance, and when you have districts that are so manipulated, common sense tells you that this could have only happened with partisan intent," she adds.

If the court rules the district lines are unconstitutional, the governor and the Legislature could be ordered to redraw the map, or one of the courts may appoint an independent master to draw the new lines.


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Opponents of an Iowa Supreme Court decision they say makes it almost impossible to sue corporate farms over pollution, are encouraging landowners to collectively voice their concerns.

Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement is making that plea following last week's ruling, which reversed a previous legal opinion that property owners could sue operators over factors such as water pollution and odor problems.

The group's executive director Hugh Espey said it essentially shows the state prioritizes corporate interests and not the concerns of residents.

"This ruling kowtows to the corporate ag industry," said Espey. "And this is an industry that pollutes our air and water. It pushes family farms out of business."

The court says "protecting and promoting livestock production is a legitimate state interest."

Lawsuits can still be filed against confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. However, certain criteria has to be met.

Some estimates peg Iowa's number of CAFOs at roughly 10,000.

Meanwhile, Espey said landowners voicing their concerns in a collective way could help get the attention of policymakers. He said showing up at the ballot box helps, too.

"You gotta look at the candidates running for office," said Espey. "Where do they stand on this issue?"

In Iowa, Supreme Court justices are appointed by the governor. Republican incumbent Gov. Kim Reynolds is up for re-election this fall.

The issue of landowner rights has come up in other ways in this region as some companies try to secure property for proposed underground carbon dioxide pipelines.

Voting-rights groups in Michigan are working to increase awareness about and access to voting in jails.

In Michigan, anyone not serving a prison sentence is eligible to vote, although there are barriers often making it nearly impossible for those in jail pre- or mid-trial. They may not be fully aware of their voting rights, and lack internet access and the materials needed to learn about candidates and issues, or to register and cast a ballot.

Local groups are working to increase voter outreach in jails, and advocating for policies to make it easier.

Percy Glover, member of the Voting Access for All Coalition and a Genessee County Ambassador, explained part of the challenge of getting people in jail reconnected with voting.

"Being in jail and being in prison is very destructive on people. They doubt the system. They don't trust the system," Glover pointed out. "Some of them may have been also wrongfully arrested, wrongfully detained, so why would I be interested in voting?"

Glover urged educating eligible voters in jail, and building out jail-based voting systems across all county jails in Michigan. He also hopes Michigan will follow Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C., in allowing people in prison to vote as well.

Amani Sawari, justice services director for Spread the Vote, which is partnering with Michigan to create a "vote-by-mail in jail program" program. They help with voter registration by paying for expenses required for jailed voters to obtain an ID, and providing stamps, envelopes, forms and voter guides.

"Our goal is to create if not an in-person program, at least a remote process for jailed voters," Sawari emphasized. "To not only register while incarcerated, but to also receive their absentee ballot to their place of incarceration, so that they can fully participate in voting."

Other states where Spread the Vote is working to facilitate jail-based voting include neighboring Wisconsin and Indiana. As Juneteenth approaches this Sunday, the Voting Access for All Coalition is spotlighting the ways social issues like poverty and race are intertwined in the criminal legal system as well as affecting voting rights.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The 95-year-old Texan known as the "grandmother of Juneteenth" will celebrate this weekend, as she has for the past nine decades, but with the added knowledge she was instrumental in securing the date as a federal holiday.

Opal Lee decided to walk from her home in Fort Worth to Washington, D.C., six years ago, to raise awareness about the significance of Juneteenth. Lee traveled about 2.5 miles each day to symbolize the two-and-a-half years Black Texans waited for their freedom after Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in 1862.

Lee said she has heard the many stories about why it took so long for news of the Emancipation Proclamation to reach Texas, but she prefers to think about what it meant to her ancestors.

"And when the people came in from their labor, and somebody read that general order to them, we started celebrating," Lee remarked. "And we've been celebrating ever since."

In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth a national holiday, which means federal and some local offices will be closed, as will banks and the U.S. Post Office.

Even as a child, Lee spent Juneteenth picnicking with her family in her predominantly white Fort Worth neighborhood. At age 12, she watched a mob of 500 white supremacists burn her family's house to the ground, with no arrests made. She said the experience led her to a life of teaching, activism and most recently, campaigning.

"If people have been taught to hate, they can be taught to love," Lee asserted. "I want them to know that freedom is for all of us. None of us are free until we're all free."

And Lee believes many more problems in America could be solved if everyone pulled together.

"We need to address joblessness and homelessness, and everybody needs a decent place to stay, and climate change" Lee outlined. "There are so many disparities that, if we work together, we can eradicate."

Juneteenth celebrations will include freedom tours, reenactments, parades, concerts and more.