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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The new congressional map released Monday by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has left a few people lost and others angry.</p><p>Among the lost is Dan Meuser, former state treasurer during the Corbett administration, who has been campaigning for the Republican nomination in what currently is the 11th Congressional District, but would being re-drawn into the new 8th and 9th districts.</p><p>&#8221;We anticipate this newly released map is going to be challenged on the basis of constitutionality, specifically as to whether the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has the authority to draw maps,&#8221; Meuser said. &#8220;We will note, the court-drawn 9th Congressional District overlaps many areas in the 11th District where we have been campaigning hard for the past five months. At this time, we are going to continue to campaign in what was the original 11th Congressional District and will comment further once all legal challenges are resolved and district lines become definitive.&#8221;</p><p>The current 11th District incumbent, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Hazleton, said by imposing new maps now, in the middle of an election cycle, the court has created mass chaos among the voters and the candidates.</p><p>&#8220;These candidates have been running for a year, and all of a sudden, they don&#8217;t know what district they are running in, and voters don&#8217;t know which candidates to vote for,&#8221; Barletta said. &#8220;They have two months to get to know each other. This last-minute map drawing is unfair to the voters and the candidates and creates unnecessary confusion two months before a pivotal election.&#8221;</p><p>Barletta is not running for re-election. The four-term congressman is seeking the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate. If successful, he will square off against U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, in November.</p><p>Barletta said the court, which he said is controlled by Democrats, has unilaterally written a map that favors Democrats.</p><p>Barletta went on to say if the Pennsylvania Supreme Court does not like the current congressional map, which passed the legislature with Democratic and Republican support, they should have followed the procedure used for decades and allowed the legislature to redraw the maps for 2020.</p><p><strong>State taking steps</strong></p><p>Acting Secretary of State Robert Torres Tuesday said the Department of State is taking necessary steps to implement the new remedial congressional map.</p><p>Gov. Tom Wolf said the Department of State is well prepared for a new congressional map. He said the department responded immediately to the court&#8217;s decision and is implementing its response plan. Wolf said over the next few days, updated information and support will be provided to local elections officials and candidates to ensure a smooth and orderly process.</p><p>Torres said the department is making the operational changes in plenty of time for the May 15 primary election.</p><p>&#8220;Voters will not see any changes in individual polling places and these changes do not in any way affect voters&#8217; polling places,&#8221; said Torres. &#8220;Nor will there be any change in the rules in effect at polling places.&#8221;</p><p>As soon as possible, Torres said the department plans to post spreadsheets on its website that will allow individual voters to check the congressional district in which they reside under the new boundaries.</p><p>Wolf said over the last month, he has heard from thousands of Pennsylvanians who have said they are &#8220;sick and tired of gerrymandering.&#8221;</p><p><strong>Legislators comment</strong></p><p>U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright said the new map is &#8220;bittersweet&#8221; for him.</p><p>&#8220;On one hand, I lose three counties that I have come to love and where I have formed what I hope are lifelong friendships &#8212; Schuylkill, Carbon and Northampton,&#8221; Cartwright said. &#8220;On the other hand, I pick up some wonderful places, like the Back Mountain, Hazleton, Pike and Wayne Counties. These are beautiful scenic areas with pristine lakes and waterways, including a much longer stretch of the Delaware River that I already have, and also some terrific educational institutions like Misericordia University and Luzerne County Community College.&#8221;</p><p>Cartwright, who is seeking his fourth 2-year term this year, said the new district lines will mean more work for him as he acquaints himself with the new constituents and their concerns.</p><p>As far as the new 9th District race, Cartwright said he expects an active Republican primary.</p><p>State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, said he voted against the 2011 gerrymandered congressional map, and he applauded the Supreme Court&#8217;s decision to rule it unconstitutional.</p><p>&#8221;However, I have concerns about how the new map will impact Luzerne County voters by splitting municipalities like Hazle Township and school districts like Greater Nanticoke Area School District,&#8221; Yudichak said.</p><p>State Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, was more critical of the map, saying it represents a serious loss of influence for Luzerne County.</p><p>&#8220;The splitting of the county is an unfortunate circumstance, especially since so few counties were divided in similar fashion,&#8221; Baker said. &#8220;But the way the two districts are assembled has Luzerne County on the periphery of each, making it less likely for a candidate from our county winning a race in either district. The local advocates for a fairer map probably did not contemplate a local adverse outcome.&#8221;</p><p>State Rep. Tarah Toohil, R-Butler Township, said she &#8220;absolutely does not agree with the dividing up&#8221; of the region, calling it a cohesive area.</p><p>&#8220;We identify as southern Luzerne County and in many respects as a larger community,&#8221; Toohil said. &#8220;All of this last-minute, forced map drawing is unfair to the voters and is purely political. It is unconstitutional for a partisan court to draw such blatantly political lines and to do so under forced deadlines where voters cannot have input and the decisions cannot be effectively appealed to a higher court than them.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Barletta </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Barletta_Lou-CMYK-3.jpg</photo0><caption0>Barletta </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Wolf_Tom-07-24-14-cmyk-8.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Wolf </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Wolf_Tom-07-24-14-cmyk-8.jpg</photo1><caption1>Wolf </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Cartwright_Matt-CMYK-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Cartwright </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Cartwright_Matt-CMYK-1.jpg</photo2><caption2>Cartwright </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_retreat03CMYK-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Yudichak </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_retreat03CMYK-1.jpg</photo3><caption3>Yudichak </caption3><photoCredit3></photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Toohil_Tarah-cmyk-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Toohil </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Toohil_Tarah-cmyk-2.jpg</photo4><caption4>Toohil </caption4><photoCredit4></photoCredit4></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_NEW-CONGRESIONAL-MAP.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo5>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_NEW-CONGRESIONAL-MAP.jpg</photo5><caption5></caption5><photoCredit5>The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania </photoCredit5></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Area legislators react to newly-drawn Congressional District map