Federal judges to weigh request to halt congressional map

HARRISBURG (AP) — A request by Pennsylvania Republican congressmen to prevent the use of new district lines and an effort to dismiss their lawsuit are the topics of a hearing before a panel of federal judges.

The hearing Friday in Harrisburg involves a claim by eight sitting members of the U.S. House that the state Supreme Court overstepped its authority in throwing out the congressional map put in place in 2011.

The lawsuit also claims the state court didn’t give the General Assembly enough time to pass a replacement before the court announced its own map on Feb. 19.

The congressmen and two senior Republican state senators sued two top elections officials under Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.

The 18 voters who won the state court case have since joined the federal litigation.