The status of New York’s primary elections is now in question after a judge ruled the state’s proposed voting district map was illegally gerrymandered to favor democrats last week.
Transcript
George Heshemi: Suspected gerrymandering could be the reason the New York Primary elections get postponed. Democracy Watch Reporter Bryan Hudnell joins us in studio with the latest.
Bryan Hudnell: State redistricting occurs every ten years. New maps are drawn to match the population trends revealed in the census. These maps determine which candidates represent which areas of the state and also where your vote will count on Election Day.
Bryan Hudnell:
However when these new districts are created to give one political party an advantage, this process is known as gerrymandering and it’s a problem that’s happening all around the country…including right here in the state of New York.Professor Grant Reeher:
When it becomes too extreme, when the reason for redistricting can’t be understood except only in terms of pure partisanship, then the districts are open to being challenged on the grounds of being gerrymandered,” Reeher said. “That’s what this judge determined.”Bryan Hudnell:
New York is one of four states without a new approved district map. Here is a timeline of those efforts. On March 29th, a judge ruled New York’s new maps were unconstitutional in favor of Democrats. On Monday, an appeals court put a hold on that decision an will be revisited in a hearing schedule for Thursday.Grant Reeher:
The problem that’s created with the timing with not having finalized maps is that the potential candidates, people who currently hold office, they don’t know where they’re running. They don’t even know if they live in their districts anymore in some cases,”Bryan Hudnell:
If the judge’s original ruling is enacted, then new maps will have to be redrawn by April 11. If new maps aren’t drawn in time, then the June 28 New York primaries could be pushed back as late as August. Reporting in studio…Bryan Hudnell…NCC News!
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The status of New York’s primary elections is now in question after a judge ruled the state’s proposed voting district map was illegally gerrymandered to favor democrats last week.
The process of redistricting occurs every 10 years when new Census data showing the latest population trends is made available.
When these redistricting efforts ignore Census data and are created to heavily favor a particular political party, then that’s where the line is crossed when it comes to gerrymandering.
Grant Reeher, a political science professor at Syracuse University, says this New York judge made that determination when looking at the state’s proposed maps.
“When it becomes too extreme, when the reason for redistricting can’t be understood except only in terms of pure partisanship, then the districts are open to being challenged on the grounds of being gerrymandered,” Reeher said. “That’s what this judge determined.”
Timeline of New York’s redistricting efforts
On Monday, an appeals court put that judge’s decision on hold and will be revisited Thursday.
If the judge’s original ruling is enacted, then new maps will have to be redrawn by April 11.
If new maps aren’t drawn in time, then the June 28 New York primaries could be pushed back as late as August.
“The problem that’s created with the timing with not having finalized maps is that the potential candidates, people who currently hold office, they don’t know where they’re running. They don’t even know if they live in their districts anymore in some cases,” Reeher said.