Voters OK independent redistricting commission
Ulster County voters made state history Tuesday when they overwhelmingly passed a referendum giving an independent redistricting commission the final say over the creation and adopting of the county Legislature’s district map.
The measure, approved 49,186 to 15,820, with all 163 precincts reporting, is intended to strike a fatal blow to gerrymandered districts by removing politicians from the process of drawing district lines for the Ulster County Legislature.
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 drawn in a way to ensure the party in power remains in power.
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 approved Tuesday eliminated that provision, 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.