HARRISBURG, Pa., Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Latinos in Pennsylvania say the state's primary election should be delayed because legislative maps violate the rights of the state's 700,000 Hispanics.
Holding the election April 24 using 2001 maps, Latino leaders say, would be unconstitutional and discriminatory because the maps do not account for the 46 percent growth in the state's Hispanic population in the past decade, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The 2001 maps are based on the 2000 census, the Inquirer said.
"Latinos are getting the shaft in the redistricting process," said Angel Ortiz, a former Philadelphia city councilman.
Speakers at a news conference Monday criticized the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for ruling new legislative maps invalid last month. The 4-3 ruling sent the Legislative Reapportionment Commission back to work on the maps.
The court ruled the maps, drawn by Republican legislative leaders who hold the majority in the General Assembly, violated the state Constitution provision against splitting municipalities into different legislative districts unless necessary.
The census triggers redistricting every 10 years.
The court rejected maps that had created three new "majority-minority" districts -- in Allentown, Reading and Philadelphia -- where people of Latino background would be the majority.
Changing the primary date would require approval of the House and Senate and Gov. Tom Corbett's signature.
