Up until the 1970 reapportionment, New York Congressional districts were usually 100% within the borough. “Court orders new Congressional Maps” (Brandon Duffy — Dec. 15).Â
The same was true for Long Island and virtually all of the other 57 counties outside of NYC. Cities and towns were not split between districts. Today, too many districts in NYC divide neighborhoods and cross borough boundaries, sometimes into adjacent suburban counties.
In several cases, boundaries were drawn to create majority-minority districts. This was to ensure a particular ethnic group could elect one of their own. Â
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In 1812, Massachusetts Gov. Elbridge Gerry signed a redistricting bill allowing his party to rig the drawing of district boundaries in their favor. This practice is known as gerrymandering today. With the results of the 2020 census, will Gov. Kathy Hochul, state Senate majority leader Andrea Steward Cousins and state Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie give up their goal to create as many favorable districts to assist Democrats in regaining control of Congress?
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As of November 2023, according to the State Board of Elections, there are 5,886,085 Democrats, 2,696,999 Republicans,154,034 Conservatives, 49,586 Working Families, 375,163 Other, 2,878,289 Blank (no declared party) for a total of 12,040,156 active voters.
In Nassau County, there are 382,986 Democrats, 295,145 Republicans, 9,461 Conservatives, 2,169 Working Families, 28,556 Other, 262,107 Blank (no declared party) for a total of 981,424 active voters.
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The numbers show that Democrats have nothing to fear from an honest reapportionment for Congressional district boundaries.
Why not allow the League of Women voters or some other impartial group to redraw district boundaries to prevent one party from stacking the deck in their favor? Â
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State law requires that state legislative districts be contiguous and compact. State legislative districts must also take into account the “historic and traditional significance of counties.”
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Larry Penner
Great Neck
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