Expert: Lessons from New York's redistricting process
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- It’s been a long road for New York’s redistricting. The process finally wrapped up overnight Friday. This re-working of the district lines only happens once every ten years.
Special Master, Dr. Jonathan Cervas, was appointed to create the maps after a Steuben County judge ruled that the states' originally submitted maps were unconstitutional. Before Cervas, the process was originally expected to be conducted by a bipartisan group called the Independent Redistricting Commission, which couldn’t ultimately agree on maps.
Tim Hoefer, President, and CEO of the Empire Center for Public Policy think the process didn’t get a fair shake.
“The state had to be sued to even fund the IRC," Hoefer said, "and remember, this goes back to a constitutional amendment where the people of the state of New York said, 'we want a different way to do this.' So it didn’t start off on the right foot."
Public reception of the maps aside, Hoefer feels the process will certainly need some review before the next redrawing of lines.
“It’s ten years away, so we have to remember," Hoefer said, "how do we make sure people remember what this was like? How do we make sure it works better, and how do we hold those government officials who are responsible for administering this process accountable for how it turns out so we don’t end up in this place again?”