Smart Talk: Redistricting reform takes on greater importance during Census year

Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 9am and 7pm on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.”

The boundaries between U.S. states don’t change, but voting district boundaries within each state do change and may be redrawn every 10 years to coincide with the U.S. Census count.

The expectation is that districts within the state must have populations that are roughly equal to one another. The potential is that when districts are redrawn, gerrymandering may occur.

Gerrymandering is the drawing of the boundaries in a way that gives one party an unfair advantage over other parties. This year there are several factors compounding the risk of Gerrymandered districts, including incomplete and delayed Census data and proposed legislation to change how judges are elected.

To highlight the issues on Smart Talk Thursday are Carol Kuniholm, Fair Districts PA Chair and David Thornburgh, President and CEO, Committee of Seventy.

Public utilities vulnerable to cyber threats

It is an alarming report. In early February a water treatment plan operator noticed his computer cursor moving around on the screen, independent of his actions. A cyber hack was underway with the intruder altering the chemical levels involved in the water treatment.

That event, which is now under investigation, alarmed state and local utility officials around the country. How vulnerable are Pennsylvania public utilities and water systems to a cyber threat?

Nils Hagen-Frederiksen is the Press Secretary for the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and he appears on Smart Talk Thursday to address system safeguards.