DEMOCRATS press on with a contentious proposal to change the way legislative districts are redrawn
A controversial proposal to overhaul the way New Jersey redraws legislative districts every 10 years advanced in Trenton yesterday after a key Senate committee voted along party lines — and despite concerns raised by good-government advocacy groups that it could unfairly stack the deck for majority
DEMOCRATS.
The proposal — for a constitutional amendment that would change the makeup of what’s known as the legislative apportionment commission — was approved at the end of a marathon hearing, during which critics wondered at the wisdom of such a proposal.
The strongest criticism came from Helen Kioukis with the League of Women Voters, who labeled the changes “undemocratic.”
The hearing also contained a bizarre moment when votes were allowed to be recorded ahead of time, despite a series of amendments being made after lawmakers had already left the State House.
Legislative redistricting in New Jersey currently happens every 10 years under a commission comprising an equal number of
DEMOCRATS and Republicans who are selected by the chairmen of their state parties.
Similar concerns were raised in 2015 when
DEMOCRATS put forward a prior version of the proposed changes.
“Our concern is the definition of competitiveness,” Ben Williams, coordinator of the nonpartisan Princeton Gerrymandering Project, said.
Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) asked, “Is it supposed to be a 50-50 state when there’s a million more registered
DEMOCRATS?”
DEMOCRATS brushed off Republicans’ concerns about whether it was proper to advance the measure that was approved yesterday with votes that were recorded before amendments were read into the official record.
https://www.njspotlight.com/stories/18/11/27/democrats-push-controversial-redistricting-overhaul-critics-push-back/
