Growing Support for Redistricting Reform

In the past four years we’ve grown to a grassroots, all-volunteer network of more than 40 local groups, six regional support teams, active statewide working groups and trained speakers reaching audiences large and small in every corner of the state. Forty endorsing organizations now participate in outreach and advocacy, with the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania continuing its key role as fiscal sponsor and primary partner in local outreach.

As of the start of this year:

• Over 30,000 people have attended one of over 840 informational meetings to hear about causes and harms of partisan gerrymandering and ways to work for reform.
• The FDPA email list has grown from 1,200 in 2016 to over 60,000 by the start of 2020.
• Volunteers have collected over 100,000 petition signatures in support of an independent redistricting commission.
• FDPA has grown from a small state-level committee in 2016 to a network of county-based groups covering most of PA’s 67 counties.
• Hometown newspapers have printed over 200 letters to the editor supporting reform.
• Over 330 municipal governments and 21 counties have passed bipartisan resolutions or letters asking legislators to support redistricting reform. They represent over 68% of the PA population.
• The Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs (PSAB) also passed a resolution of support. PSAB represents 956 PA boroughs with a combined population of 2.6 million Pennsylvanians.
• Fueled by hundreds of citizen volunteers, over 100,000 Pennsylvanians (12K+ in the November 2019 primary alone) have so far signed petitions supporting an independent redistricting commission.
• Our supporters have called their legislators, visited their offices and sent them thousands of letters, emails and faxes calling for change.
• In addition to writing 485 news articles about redistricting and gerrymandering, 47 media outlets statewide, representing big cities and small towns and a full political spectrum, have run over 275 editorials, op-eds and columns – virtually ALL of them calling for reform.

All of this has been funded by small-dollar online donations, a few much larger contributions from some generous PA supporters, an early $5,000 grant from the Pittsburgh Foundation and a $25,000 grant for grassroots organizing from the Ben and Jerry’s Employee Foundation. The budget has grown from $12,000 in 2016 to over $500,000 in 2019. With no salaries or office overhead, those dollars go far toward printing of materials, venue rental and strategically placed ads.

Thank you to all who have been a part in making redistricting reform central to the political conversation in Pennsylvania.