Legislative gerrymandering, devising electoral districts to ensure certain outcomes, is the most reliable way to help produce and preserve minority rule. That had been the case in Pennsylvania for more than a decade, during which Republicans held majorities in both legislative houses even though Democrats held substantial registration advantages.

Holding majority power also enables other instruments of minority rule, such as voter suppression and scheduling important state constitutional referendums for low-turnout elections.

Recently, the House State Government Committee approved a bill that would eliminate the last of those devices by requiring that state constitutional referendums appear on ballots when the most Pennsylvanians are likely to vote. It passed on a straight party-line vote: 12 Democrats in favor; 9 Republicans against.

Republicans held both legislative majorities until Democrats captured the House by a one-vote margin for the current two-year session. While in the majority, Republicans scheduled two referendums to diminish the governor’s emergency powers for the 2021 municipal primary election. Odd-year municipal primaries almost always produce low turnouts, helping to mitigate the Republicans’ registration disadvantage. In 2021, about a quarter of the state’s voters participated in the municipal primary, compared with 76.1% in the 2020 general election and more than 60% in November 2022.

The GOP majorities also planned to conduct referendums in this year’s municipal primary on highly controversial constitutional amendments regarding abortion and voter identification. Court challenges and the Democrats’ election to the House majority deterred that plan.

The new bill would require constitutional amendment referendums to be on general election years, when elections for Congress, all of the state House, half of the Senate, and governors and presidents produce bigger turnouts.

Since the current state constitution last was adopted in 1968, according to an analysis by Spotlight PA, 49 constitutional amendments have appeared on statewide ballots, but just 14 were presented during gubernatorial or presidential elections.

“The constitutional amendment process … should not be done by a handful of voters,” said Democratic Rep. Ben Sanchez of Montgomery County, the bill’s sponsor.

The Legislature should pass the bill to ensure that as many Pennsylvanians as possible weigh in on matters important to state governance.