October 9, 2014
By Neal Tepel
New York, NY – The Citizens Union has released a report examining the election results following the 2012 redistricting process. State legislators once again used a rigged process to maximize their hold on power in each house.
“The 2012 redistricting process was business as usual in Albany, with the majority parties controlling the process and lines being drawn for partisan purposes rather than in the best interests of voters, with greater candidate choice and more contested elections,” said Dick Dadey, Executive Director of Citizens Union. “This report confirms that the Legislature again used the process in 2012 to keep its stranglehold on power. New Yorkers now have the opportunity to fix this rigged system and hold legislators accountable by voting Yes for Proposal 1 on November 4th. This state constitutional amendment will ban partisan gerrymandering by outlawing legislative maps drawn for political advantage.”
The report found that the lines in 2012 were drawn for political advantage and the number of uncontested elections increased.
The redistricted maps boosted Incumbents’ re-election rate to 97% and 37% of all races were uncontested.
