By Miles Bryan | Keystone Crossroads
•
Jan 13, 2021
Sarah Kovash
/ 90.5 WESA
A proposed constitutional amendment that would drastically alter Pennsylvania’s judicial system advanced Wednesday with the blessing of the House Judiciary Committee.
The amendment would let voters choose to elect the state’s appellate court judges by region, instead of statewide — a move opponents say would “gerrymander the court.”
The bill passed the GOP-controlled committee by a vote of 13 to 12 with two Republicans, Todd Stephens (R-Montgomery) and Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny), breaking ranks to oppose the measure.
Republicans who back the measure say the idea would give voters in rural Pennsylvania a greater voice to elect judges.