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in primary elections, providing a built-in advantage to candidates
who rolled the dice and drew a favorable ballot position.
In a state where the Supreme Court ordered a re-drawing of
congressional lines to assure more equitable districts, the most
complicated and controversial issue is redistricting reform. After
the decennial census state legislative and congressional districts are
redrawn. For Congress the PA General Assembly passes a Joint
Resolution in the same fashion that it passes legislation. As it
moves thru the House and Senate there can be amendments and
it can even be defeated. The Joint Resolution lists every political
subdivision in each of the districts. As a Joint Resolution of the
General Assembly (and not a new law) it cannot be vetoed by the
Governor. But it must be approved for the congressional districts
to be re-set. That is especially important in PA because in recent
congressional reapportionments seats have been lost, shifted to
other states. Keep in mind that in drawing the new lines the
permitted variation from one district to another is 1 citizen.
The process for redrawing state level election districts is not
burdened by the 1 person variance and is significantly different

in another way. Each of the four legislative caucuses, House and
Senate Democrats and Republicans, names a member to serve on a
Reapportionment Commission. A fifth commission member, the
Commission Chair, is selected by vote of the commission unless
the Supreme Court has to step in to name that individual.
When the new districts maps are finalized the plan takes effect
on a vote by the commission. The objection is that the map
drawing process is certainly not transparent.
Reformers have built a strong case for redistricting changes in
recent years around allegations of gerrymandering. Although a
commission with more public input is the most popular option it
faces the difficult hurdle of a constitutional amendment before that
reform can be implemented.
Democracy was never intended to be static. The US
Constitution itself was amended shortly after it was approved
by the states. Of more significant concern would be when we
collectively stop trying to improve our democracy.

CONSIDER MEMBERSHIP
in The Chester County Medical Society

Join Us!

Established in 1828, the Chester County
Medical Society, founded by Dr. William
Darlington, M.D., is thought to be the oldest
county medical society in the State. The
Medical Society is involved in all aspects of
healthcare policy, practice, and education and
serves to advance the health of the community
and to protect and expand the healthcare
resources available to its citizens.
T he Chester County Medical Society works
collaboratively with the Pennsylvania
Medical Society, but our focus is on our local
community. The Society's role in Chester
County is to support, protect, and advocate
for our physicians and our patients. We look
forward to growing an important healthcare
service for our community that will benefit us
all, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Member Benefits

Help Patients Find You! CCMS Members are listed in the Pennsylvania Medical Society's
"Find a Physician" program.
Legislative Support Representation with local legislators. Contact your local legislator
by getting their contact information provided on our Legislator page.
General Membership Meeting General Membership Meeting - an annual meeting
which provides members the opportunity to impact their Society's activities and goals.
Legislative Dinner - "aka The Clam Bake" - an annual dinner for members to meet local
legislators in an informal setting - stay tuned for more details about the 2020 Clam Bake
in our Summer edition.
Chester County Medicine Chester County Medicine has been the CCMS's official
publication for several decades. CCMS members will receive a complimentary
subscription to Chester County Medicine magazine, the Society's new twist on its
longtime quarterly publication.

DocBookMD - an exclusive HIPAA-secure messaging application for smart phone
and tablet devices.

To learn more, join or renew, visit https://www.pamedsoc.org/about-pamed/Membership
SPRING 2020 | CHESTER COUNT Y Medicine 15
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ChesterCountyMedicineSpring2020

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