“In 2014, New Yorkers went to the polls and approved a referendum that would prevent one party from dominating the redistricting process. It appealed to their sense of fairness. There’s a word for one party drawing district lines without fair-minded analysis, checks and balances or appropriate oversight- gerrymandering. That’s exactly what the referendum was written to prevent. Unfortunately, it’s exactly what Majority politicians are trying to do by pushing legislation that would allow them to authorize new lines with no Minority votes.

“Requiring a 2/3 majority in both houses of the Legislature to authorize new boundaries for legislative districts ensured a fair, bipartisan process. I’m hopeful that voters will see the majorities re-writing the rules of our Democracy for their own political gain as another reason why we need to restore balance in Albany this November.

“These are exactly the sort of actions that inspired President Obama to launch his nationwide initiative against partisan gerrymandering. This is a major step backwards in our efforts to have an independent, fair redistricting process that enfranchises every New Yorker,” said Ra.