Advocates demand public input on new congressional district map
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Advocates from across the state want the state’s redistricting commission to hold public hearings ahead of the drawing new court-ordered maps. Map via New York State Redistricting & You/CUNY Graduate Center
By Ryan Schwach
A group of redistricting advocates are calling on the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission to collect public testimony ahead of the drawing of a new set of congressional maps, after the Court of Appeals ordered the commission to issue new district lines by the end of February.
Though they explicitly ordered the drawing of the new map, the state’s top court did not require that the IRC collect feedback from the public, a process they already went through in the lead up to their first attempt at drawing the state’s districts in 2021 and 2022.
However, advocacy groups across the state – and in Queens – are calling on the commission to hold hearings anyway, and give the public another opportunity to make their voices heard.
The letter, signed by groups including the APA Redistricting Task Force, New York Immigration Coalition and Common Cause/NY, calls for greater transparency and public input on the congressional lines due to the legislature by Feb. 28.
“We firmly believe that an open redistricting process is critical for ensuring that the voices of all New Yorkers are heard,” the letter reads. “New Yorkers deserve the opportunity to weigh in on district lines before they are finalized despite the challenges presented by the procedurally set timeline for the creation and submission of the new map. The adherence to a strict timeline should not be achieved at the expense of the interests of everyday New Yorkers.”
The groups argue that public hearings ahead of the drawing of the map would better serve transparency and fairness when it comes to how New York’s congressional lines will look like as the state heads into the 2024 elections.
Up to this point, the redistricting process has been wrought with controversy, court hearings and partisan squabbles which the advocates argue has led to less confidence in the process.
“The lack of public trust in New York’s redistricting process is pronounced and voters are weary of ever changing district lines and the attendant uncertainty it brings right before a consequential election cycle,” they wrote. “We urge the Commission to make every attempt at collaboration, meaningful public input, openness and transparency before submitting any new congressional map plan to the Legislature.”
Advocates who spoke to the Eagle on Monday believe that transparency is needed for the maps to best reflect the will of the voters.
“We think that there always needs to be public hearings and transparency and specific input from community members about how those maps impact their communities,” said Asher Ross from the New York Immigration Coalition, who said the last IRC hearings were successful as far as outreach is concerned.
“The public hearings that were conducted by the Independent Redistricting Commission throughout 2021 were very good,” he said. “They had thousands of people participating, submitting via email as well as appearing in person and via Zoom.”
Following the IRC’s last meeting in December, IRC Commissioner Kenneth Jenkins told the Eagle that the Court of Appeals believed the commission had all the information needed from those last hearings to draw the new maps.
“The court order from the Court of Appeals said we had all the information required to be able to make whatever modifications to be able to make a submission to the legislature,” Jenkins said.
However, the redistricting advocates refute that idea, because the current maps – the ones used in last year’s elections – were drawn by a court-appointed special master, who did not hold any public feedback sessions.
“There have not been any hearings thus far on the current congressional maps,” said Ross. “Those maps were drawn by a court-appointed special master, and there were no public hearings in response to these current maps…no past input has shown what the public input thinks about these maps.”
“These maps decrease, in some cases, minority voter representation, and they also divide communities of interest in some cases,” he added. “These are the types of issues that people would speak to in hearings.”
State redistricting advocacy groups, including the Queens-centered APA Task Force, are arguing for the New York Independent Redistricting Commission to hold more public hearings. Screenshot via APA Voice Redistricting Task Force
The APA Voice Redistricting Task Force, which includes several Queens-based groups, argues that the testimony they gave in 2021 is outdated, because the current maps actually addressed the issues.
“Our task force position has changed in the last three years, we like the current lines, we think the current lines keep our APA communities of interest even more together than previously supported proposals,” task force coordinator Elizabeth OuYang said. “They need to hear that testimony has changed in light of the special masters or in light of the current lines that are drawn now.”
In the last year, the APA Task Force has fought over State Assembly lines as well, and has even tried suing the NYIRC and submitting Freedom of Information Act requests to understand the commissions motivation behind its Assembly lines, which split up the South Asian and Indo-Caribbean communities in South Queens.
In their letter, the advocates believe that the commission's deliberations should be public, rather than behind closed doors.
“Finally, the commission should make it clear that its duty is to the public, not elected officials or political parties,” they wrote. “Holding mapping deliberations in public will significantly help the Commission achieve this goal. It is our hope that the Commission collaborates and prioritizes reaching a consensus on the new map. New Yorkers deserve a redistricting process free of gridlock, and we ask that the Commissioners do everything in their power to reach an agreement.”
In response to an inquiry regarding the letter, NYRIC co-executive director Karen Blatt said that the commission was only following the court’s order.
“The Court of Appeals decision indicates that there is no requirement to solicit additional public input,” she said.
Jeff Wice, professor at New York Law School who leads the school’s N.Y. Census & Redistricting Institute, doesn’t believe the commission will head the request, but that doesn't mean they won’t take ideas.
“The commission is not required to conduct any further public outreach, but I'm sure that groups like APA Voice and the other groups like that will, on their own, submit ideas to the commission,” he said. “The Democrats [on the commission] did, however, seek input from the public shortly after the Appellate Division decision came down a few months ago. The Republicans [on the commission] did not participate in that effort, but the Democrats did reach out to the public for ideas.”
Wice also says it is not fully determined which past – or current – maps the IRC will use as their starting point in drafting the new ones.
“We don't know now what the commission is actually doing,” he said.
Wice also added the NYIRC has a vacant position to deal with as well after the December passing of Dr. John Flataeu, a longtime commissioner who was called the “Dean of redistricting” and was a guiding force among the members.
For now, the commission can meet in small groups, but no other official meeting dates have been announced.
“We haven't heard about a date to the next meeting or target date for the release of a map except that it be done no later than Feb. 28,” Wice said.
