Ballot measure aims to eliminate gerrymandering

KINGSTON, N.Y. >> A referendum going before Ulster County voters in November looks to clarify where the authority to adopt a final legislative redistricting plan lies and could make Ulster the first county in the state to strike a fatal blow to gerrymandered districts.

The proposal would give the Ulster County Redistricting Committee final say over the creation and adoption of a redistricting map, as well as additional time to complete its work.

“The underlying objective is to remove politicians from the process,” said Rod Futerfas, chairman of the Ulster County Charter Revision Commission, which proposed the changes. “The whole purpose is to try to avoid having political influence.”

“To my information, we are the only county in the state that is keeping politics out of the redistricting process,” Futerfas said.

When Ulster County residents voted in 2006 to adopt a charter form of government, they also voted to move toward taking political influence out of the redistricting process by establishing an independent committee that would create the legislative districts. But put to the test in 2011, the process became mired in controversy when the county Legislature demanded the right to vote on the final plan. The Legislature ultimately voted on the reapportionment plan proposed by the Redistricting Commission.

In 2012, the Legislature put before voters a proposed charter change that sought to resolve the dispute over who had the final say through a compromise that relied on the state government to give county voters the ability to vote on a redistricting plan — but only if the county Legislature requested the state grant it the ability to put the measure on the ballot. The Legislature never requested that authority.

The referendum going before voters on Nov. 6 would eliminate the provision for a permissive referendum, giving the Redistricting Commission the final say over the redistricting map, a move that members of the commission who developed the original charter have said was their original intent.

Counties are required to redraw legislative district lines after after every U.S. Census to reflect shifts in population and to ensure all residents equal representation.

Historically, district boundaries have been determined by the party in power at the time, frequently resulting in district lines that are “gerrymandered” in a way to ensure the party in power remains in power.

“We see it everywhere,” whether it’s Republicans or Democrats, Futerfas said.

“You’ve got tortured district boundaries which are really intended to disenfranchise those people out of power and to keep those in power in power,” he said.

The referendum also would alter the way members are appointed to the redistricting committee and the timeframe in which the committee would have to develop a new plan, as well as require that commission appointees reflect both the geographic and demographic diversity of the county.