Council Redistricting
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Council Redistricting

The 17-member Philadelphia City Council has a major role in the everyday lives of city residents. With Council districts being redrawn, now is the time to ensure residents can engage directly in the map-making process.

Understanding City Council

As the legislative branch of local government,  Philadelphia City Council consists of ten members who represent individual districts and seven at-large members who represent the entire city.

What Council Does

City council has the power to make laws that impact everything from healthcare access and housing to street maintenance and public safety. This includes the responsibility to review and approve the city's more than $5 billion budget.

How it Impacts Philadelphians

Council districts matter for Philadelphians in determining who has voice in the political process and their ability to press Council members to address local issues. Communities that are split across districts may have their representation and power diluted.

Understanding Redistricting

With the release of U.S. Census data on August 12, 2021, Philadelphia City Council had six months to redraw the boundaries for its ten district seats. According to the Census, the population of Philadelphia was a little over 1.6 million, meaning that there should be roughly 160,000 residents per district. But population equality isn't the only important factor. Many communities are well served by being kept whole within a district, having one elected official to represent them and attend to local issues.

Especially because redistricting has been rife with political abuse in the past, leading to crooked boundaries that fracture communities, it was essential that residents across the city can engage directly in the map-making process and City Council members to ensure public and community factors are prioritized in the next Council map.

Seventy and its partners were successful in minimizing the number of potential communities needlessly split by boundaries and convinced City Council to count prisoners in their home districts for the purposes of redistricting, the first time this practice has ever been followed.

The final map with revised figures counting some prisoners in their home districts was approved on February 10, 2023. This map will be used for the 2023 council elections and will go into full effect when new Council members take office in January 2024.

 Proposed Council Map Released

 

City Council introduced a mapping bill (Bill No. 220003) on Thur, Jan. 20 that will be used for elections in 2023, 2027 and 2031. Use this online version of the proposed map to see how it may affect your area or part of the city. There are several overarching concerns:

  • Split communities: The proposed map isn't dramatically different from the current map, but numerous community splits identified in this Preliminary Report on Public Input and Priorities haven't been addressed while several new ones were created. Communities split by multiple districts may have more difficulty being heard by elected officials.
  • Prison gerrymandering: The proposed map continues the practice of counting Philadelphians in city and state-prisons at the location of the prison instead of counting them at their home or last-known address. In the city, this shifts voting power from these people's home communities to the a
  • A closed, rushed process: After nearly 90 organizations endorsed a Redistricting Roadmap of suggested steps to involve the public, this map was negotiated entirely behind closed doors and will be rushed to the finish line under the direction of Council President Darrell Clarke.

Community Engagement and Findings

A public outreach and engagement campaign from September to December 2021 culiminated in a Preliminary Report on Public Input and Priorities that included summary findings from 12 redistricting workshops, 12 community input meetings, and 150+ submissions to an online survey. Find resources from this campaign and anonymized survey responses in this folder. Recordings from the community meetings are below.

Seventy and its partners also distributed this resource toolkit to empower residents and communities across the city to engage in the process and influence the shape of the districts in which they'll be represented in City Hall.

General Area and Boundaries
Dates, Times and Registration
Logan, Olney (Districts 8, 9)
West Philly (Districts 3, 4)
Allegheny West, Hunting Park, Nicetown, Tioga (Districts 4, 5, 7, 8)
Kensington, Port Richmond (Districts 1, 6, 7)
Near Northeast (Districts 6, 7, 9)
Southwest (Districts 2, 3)
Fishtown, Northern Liberties (Districts 1, 5)
Eastern North (Districts 5, 7)
Northwest (Districts 4, 8, 9)
South Philly (Districts 1, 2)
Center City (Districts 1, 2, 5)
Far Northeast (Districts 6, 10)

General Area and Boundaries

Logan, Olney (Districts 8, 9)

Dates, Times and Registration

General Area and Boundaries

West Philly (Districts 3, 4)

Dates, Times and Registration

General Area and Boundaries

Allegheny West, Hunting Park, Nicetown, Tioga (Districts 4, 5, 7, 8)

Dates, Times and Registration

General Area and Boundaries

Kensington, Port Richmond (Districts 1, 6, 7)

Dates, Times and Registration

General Area and Boundaries

Near Northeast (Districts 6, 7, 9)

Dates, Times and Registration

General Area and Boundaries

Southwest (Districts 2, 3)

Dates, Times and Registration

General Area and Boundaries

Fishtown, Northern Liberties (Districts 1, 5)

Dates, Times and Registration

General Area and Boundaries

Eastern North (Districts 5, 7)

Dates, Times and Registration

General Area and Boundaries

Northwest (Districts 4, 8, 9)

Dates, Times and Registration

General Area and Boundaries

South Philly (Districts 1, 2)

Dates, Times and Registration

General Area and Boundaries

Center City (Districts 1, 2, 5)

Dates, Times and Registration

General Area and Boundaries

Far Northeast (Districts 6, 10)

Dates, Times and Registration

Language
Redistricting Resource
Vietnamese
Haitian
Korean
Russian
Arabic

Handout | (Check back for survey)

Language

English

Redistricting Resource

Language

Spanish

Redistricting Resource

Language

Chinese

Redistricting Resource

Language

Vietnamese

Redistricting Resource

Language

Haitian

Redistricting Resource

Language

Korean

Redistricting Resource

Language

Russian

Redistricting Resource

Language

Arabic

Redistricting Resource

Handout | (Check back for survey)