Gerrymandering is a practice that has tainted the American political system at nearly every level for as long as anyone can remember.
Every 10 years when the results of the national census are released, majority parties seek to redraw district lines in a manner that will ensure their party remains the majority for as long as possible. Although it may be quasi-legal, the practice is corrupt and damages voter confidence in the democratic process.
In Nassau County the Democratic Party is livid over the way in which the lines for the county’s 19 legislative districts were redrawn just two weeks after the results of the last U.S. Census were released. The redistricting was done behind closed doors without community input.
Minority Leader Diane Yatauro (D- Glen Cove) has called on Nassau County County District Attorney Kathleen Rice and State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to investigate the redistricting. She wants to know who was hired to redraw the lines, who authorized it and who’s paying for it. “We are deeply troubled that illegal steps may have been taken to produce the rushed and illegitimate map”” she said.
We too are troubled by the gerrymandering and completely unsurprised.
Both the Republicans and Democrats have engaged in this practice of political manipulation. Neither party can say its hands are clean. But the real losers are the voters who can become disenfranchised by the shameful manipulation.
Gov. Cuomo has vowed to put an end to gerrymandering on the statewide level. The Assembly bill (A-5388) would establish an independent redistricting commission to create redistricting plans for congressional and state legislative districts based on the census. A companion bill (S-3419) is in committee in the Senate.
A similar bill is needed in Nassau County. As populations shift it is appropriate that district lines be redrawn. But the lines should be based on geography and common sense, not political opportunism.
What was the rush in Nassau County? What sense does it make to split places like Great Neck?
At a recent town meeting it became clear just how upset some voters are with the new lines.
Nevertheless Majority Leader Peter Schmitt (R-Massapequa) defended the map and accused the Democrats of “whining and crying.” And Legislator Francis Becker (R-Lynbrook) cynically defended the splitting of a number of villages saying, “It just depends sometimes on who is doing the gerrymandering.”
We have a message for Schmitt and Becker and others like them: In the 21st century the corrupt practice of gerrymandering can no longer be tolerated.
The map created by the majority should be thrown in the trash.
An independent redistricting committee should be formed made up of members who have no partisan agenda.
The process should take place in the light of day and the public should have opportunity for input before the lines are drawn.
A Blank Slate Media Editorial
