The once-in-a-decade redrawing of Pennsylvania's political maps is officially underway in Harrisburg, and you may qualify to cast the crucial swing vote on maps that can ultimately determine control of the legislature. No pressure. 

The General Assembly’s Democratic and Republican caucus leaders are accepting applications from members of the public to chair the powerful Legislative Reapportionment Commission. It’s only the second time in five decades that they've done so, Spotlight PA and Votebeat report. 

Past chairs of the Capitol’s redistricting commission have included Ivy League law professors and retired judges. But almost anyone can qualify, even those who are eyeing a run for public office, are related to politicians, or work as lobbyists or for campaigns. There is an attempt underway to change this. There's also precious time left to make it happen.

THE CONTEXT: Most of the commission’s members told Spotlight PA and Votebeat it’s too soon to elaborate on what they’re looking for in a chairperson. They have less than a month to name someone or cede that responsibility to the majority-Democrat state Supreme Court. 

There's a similarly short runway to take up a bill, passed unanimously out of a Senate committee in March, that would prohibit a person from holding the role if they or their spouse were lobbyists or political candidates, or worked for a political campaign or public official in the past five years. 

Through a spokesperson, House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff (R., Centre) said he was looking for someone who could be “a neutral arbiter who shares our commitment to a fair, open, and legal redistricting process.” He said the public application process would ensure — “assuming we can agree to a candidate” — that the person is “best qualified and not the outgrowth of political favoritism or nepotism.”