REDISTRICTING
The results of the 2010 federal census were released to the New York Legislature and to the general public on March 24, 2011.
Governor Cuomo, whose approval is required to pass a redistricting plan has taken the unequivocal step of promising to veto any redistricting plan passed under the current, non-independent redistricting process. On February 17, 2011, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office released a statement acknowledging that “Governor Cuomo has pledged that if an agreement on permanent reform of the redistricting process is not reached, he will veto the redistricting plans passed by the Legislature if those plans have been developed under the existing process and prioritize partisan and incumbent interests over the voters’ interests.”
On July 6, 2011, Governor Cuomo reiterated his pledge, stating, “I will veto a plan that is not independent or a plan that’s partisan . . . That’s what I’ve said all along. That’s what the people of the state of New York overwhelmingly support.”
And on September 30, 2011, when asked whether he would veto the redistricting boundaries being drafted by the legislature, Governor Cuomo responded “yes,” and added that he: believe[s] the process is not independent, and I don’t see how a non-independent process can come up with an independent product. I therefore would veto a bill that was not an independent product. It would then go to the courts. Period. And that’s what I have said, and that’s what I’m sticking by.
I saw a version of a new map and would no longer live in the 73rd Assembly District were I have served for the last four terms or eight years.
PRIMARY
The Republicans have asked the judge for an August primary.
The Democrats asked the judge to the primary to the fourth Tuesday in June, June 26, 2012. Moving the date of the primary would accordingly require moving up the
dates of a number of events which, under New York election law, are pegged to the date of the primary in what is called the Political Calendar.
For a June 26 primary election, the Political Calendar would start on March 6, 2012, which is the last day for State and County party chairs to file statements of party positions for the primary elections.
The next date on the Political Calendar would be March 20, 2012, the first day for candidates to collect signatures for their designating petitions.
Subsequent deadlines pepper the Political Calendar in the months leading up to the primary election. Advancing the primary date and Political Calendar would also advance preparatory political activities such as candidate fundraising and expenditures and citizen engagement with candidates through interviews, meetings, and forums. In the 2010 election cycle, candidates began expenditures as early as fourteen months before the primary. Similarly, citizens and political parties began holding forums and interviews with candidates five to six months in advance of the 2010 primary election.
Finally, New York laws affecting voting rights, including redistricting laws, require “preclearance” under the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Voting Rights Act gives the United States Department of Justice 60 days from an application for preclearance to reach a decision, and it often uses the entire 60-day period. Thus, in order for New York to pass a final redistricting plan in time for that plan to be precleared before the March 2012 start of the Political Calendar for a June 2012 primary election, the Legislature and Governor would likely have to pass final redistricting legislation no later than January 2012.
So with these delays, I would have to decide if I want to run in a new district, against another Independence Party member, and will have to make this decision soon.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!
Michael H. Drucker
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