The State "Legislative Task Force On Demographic Research And Reappointment" unveiled its proposed maps for redrawn State Senate and Assembly districts this week, and people are pissed. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has vowed to veto it, calling it "hyperpartisan," and a chorus of minority groups have slammed the Gerrymandering, which would redraw district lines along absurd, circuitous routes to exclude voters who might oppose the incumbent. In Rochester, for instance, blacks make up 42 percent of the population, but predominantly black communities would be split among three Senate districts, making it unlikely for a black candidate to win in any of them. Minority leaders across the state are incensed.
Hazel Dukes, president of the state chapter of the NAACP, accused Republicans of advancing an "agenda of excluding the African-American community along with other minority groups to maintain their political power." She tells the Times, "They have just gone out for blood." Tomorrow a coalition of groups will gather at City Hall to protest the redistricting plan, and Rev. Al Sharpton is asking the U.S. Attorney General to review the entire plan. "They’re trying to fit a size 12 foot in a size 10 shoe," Sharpton says of the redistricting. "We cannot allow that to happen, where we just say, ‘These are the traditional black and Latino seats.' "
Cuomo and other legislators have called for the formation of an independent panel to take over the redistricting process, which is determined every decade by the party controlling the Senate and Assembly. He's been unable to implement this so far, and in its current form the redistricting plan shifts more power to voters outside of New York City—an individual's vote counts more in upstate districts, where redistricting has made the population sparse.
Critics say this is part of Republicans' efforts to preserve their narrow control of the Senate through the upstate districts. But State Senator Michael F. Nozzolio, an upstate Republican, says "For every detractor, I’m sure there’s also someone who is supportive." All you need to do is carefully draw a line around that certain someone and exclude all the detractors!
For more, here's the lawsuit brought by State Senator Martin Malavé Dilan of Brooklyn challenging the plan to increase the number of seats in the Senate to 63 from 62:
