Hoping to grapple with an untenable confluence of logistical realities, the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment held this hearing in July to deal with possible delayed census results, early 2022 primaries, and new redistricting rules. The full video of that July 15 virtual public hearing is below.
The legislature will be grappling with an entirely new process for redistricting in accordance with a 2014 constitutional amendment that made significant changes to the state’s redistricting process, including the creation of a redistricting commission. Several reform, advocacy and public interest groups testified at the hearing including the League of Women Voters, Latino Justice, Reinvent Albany, and the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG).
Michael Li of the Brennan Center testified and identified four specific challenges that legislators would face; 1) coping with delays due to Covid-19; 2) fixing the excessively gerrymandered maps from the 2010 cycle -which he describes as “barely legal;” 3) the challenge presented by significant demographic changes over decade (including the possibility of New York losing a congressional seat); and 4) the need for robust funding of the commission in order for it to fulfill its mission. Li’s discussion starts at 1:33.
Jeff Wice, adjunct professor and senior fellow at the New York Law School’s Census & Redistricting Institute. Discusses the new timeline, how it might be affected by a delayed census and early primaries, and what the legal options would be in response. His discussion begins at 1:55.
