Dear Editor,
Up until the 1970 reapportionment, NYC Congressional districts were usually 100% within the boroughs. The same was true for Long Island and virtually all of the other 57 counties outside of NYC. “NY Dems Latest Redistricting Effort is Nothing More than Partisan Damage Control” (The Messenger Editorial — December 14).
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.
In 1812, Massachusetts Governor 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 Governor Kathy Hochul, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie give up their goal to create as many favorable districts to assist Democrats in regaining control of Congress?
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 Suffolk County, there are 355,696 Democrats, 323,772 Republicans, 20,144 Conservatives, 3,892 Working Families, 38,380 Other, 303,367 Blank (no declared party) for a total of 1,045,151 active voters.
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 stacking the deck in their favor?
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.”
Sincerely,
Larry Penner
Great Neck
