Letter to the editor published in the Albany Times Union of December 10
The members of the One Person, One Vote Coalition, which includes the Albany, Saratoga, and Rensselaer County League of Women Voters as well as the Albany LatinFest Association, the NAACP Branches of Albany and Troy, the Capital Area Council of Churches and The Capital Area Urban League, are pleased that the state Independent Redistricting Commission has set Jan. 3 as the date for adoption of its maps to be submitted to the Legislature. This early date minimizes the potentially serious problem of the legislative and congressional districts not being finalized before the 2022 election process is underway.
However, we are concerned with the commission's inability so far to agree on one set of maps for the new congressional, senate and assembly districts. It is critical if the constitutional process is to work that the commission not repeat the issuance of two sets of maps, one supported by the Democratic-aligned commissioners and the other by the Republican-aligned commissioners.
It is the view of this coalition that failure to agree on maps that reflect the interests of the citizenry of New York makes all the work of the commission meaningless. Finally, we urge both the commission and the Legislature to adopt maps that are based on the interests of the voters, not based on the interests of the political parties, their officeholders and candidates.
Patricia Sibilia
Slingerlands
President, League of Women Voters Albany County