Justice Debra McCloskey Todd wrote that Article 1 Section 5 of the Pennsylvania Constitution states:
Elections shall be free and equal; and no power, civil or military, shall at any time interfere to prevent the free exercise of the right to suffrage.
Justice Todd stressed that this clause mandates clearly and unambiguously that all elections in Pennsylvania must be “free and equal.” According to them, the mandate means all aspects of the electoral process must be kept open and unrestricted to the voters of the state.
Therefore, Article 1 Section 5 guarantees an equal right to all citizens in the state to elect their representatives. In other words, “all voters have an equal opportunity to translate their votes into representation.”
Congressional map diluted Democrats’ votes
In addition, Justice Todd emphasized the congressional map violated the provision because the districts were unequal. It diluted the votes of Democrats. She noted that since the redistricting in 2011, Republicans consistently won 13 of the 18 congressional districts.
