testimony of bob cohen, policy director, citizen action of new york to the legislative task force on...
TRANSCRIPT
TESTIMONY OF BOB COHEN, POLICY DIRECTORCITIZEN ACTION OF NEW YORK
TO THE LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT
ON THE LATFOR DATA RELEASE
AUGUST 4, 2011(written testimony submitted after August 4, 2011 hearing)
For more information, contact:
Bob Cohen, Esq., Policy Director Citizen Action of New York 94 Central AvenueAlbany, NY 12206(518) 465-4600 (ext. 104)[email protected]
Chairmen Nozzolio and McEneny and members of the New York State
Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment
(LATFOR). My name is Bob Cohen. I am the Policy Director of Citizen Action of
New York, a statewide membership organization that advocates for racial,
social, economic and environmental justice with chapters or affiliates in seven
communities throughout New York State. Thank you for holding this hearing.
Our state needs and deserves fair redistricting this year that gives the citizens
of New York the representation they deserve in the halls of power here in
Albany. It is also critical that district lines be drawn that respect communities
of interest, with a preference for keeping urban communities within a single
legislative district.
Citizen Action believes that a fair redrawing of the legislative district lines
in New York can only be done by individuals who do not have any self-interest
in the results. Thus, the law in New York State ought to be that legislative
districts are drawn not by legislators, but by an independent commission. So I
speak to you first in your roles as members of the Legislature, to urge you to
support the passing of legislation to abolish LATFOR in favor of the independent
commission New Yorkers deserve. We believe that ending the current system
would be a major step towards ethics in government which voters throughout
New York would no doubt widely applaud. Creation of an independent
commission can be done in a special session in the fall, which seems likely to
occur anyway given the need to address other urgent issues such as the PEF
contract and the creation of a health benefit exchange under the federal
Affordable Care Act.
Whether or not an independent commission is created, it is critical that
the laws as they are currently written be adhered to by state policymakers. As
you know, last year, legislation was enacted to require that incarcerated New
Yorkers be counted where they ought to be counted: in the communities where
they resided before their incarceration.
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However, it was recently reported that some members of LATFOR had
suggested that they did not support LATFOR following the 2010 law, but
instead support using the old system which has contributed to the
underrepresentation of many communities in New York, especially urban areas.
It LATFOR does in fact continue in the role of drawing the new
legislative districts, then it is imperative that you follow the “prison-
based gerrymandering law” in doing so, and count imprisoned New
Yorkers at their home addresses, not as residents of the town where
they are incarcerated.
The media reports that at least some members of LATFOR were not
committed to complying with the “prison-based” gerrymandering law obviously
caused us great concern. However, I was very relieved to hear the clear
assurances during the August 4th hearing from at least three legislators on both
sides of the aisle - including both LATFOR co-chairs - that these media reports
did not reflect their views, and that LATFOR does in fact intend to count those
incarcerated in their home communities. I’d like to thank you for your
commitment today, and your recognition of the importance of
adhering to a statute that was passed last year, irrespective of
whether individual members of LATFOR supported the bill when it was
considered by the Legislature.
From the perspective of Citizen Action, this is a basic question of human
rights. Those incarcerated do not leave their homes by choice, and upon
release they are likely to return to those homes. Data indicates that people are
generally incarcerated only for a relatively short period of time, and then return
to the communities where they lived prior to incarceration. They do not have a
right to vote while in prison, so there is no justification for counting them as
voters there. They deserve to be counted in the communities that they have
been and will be a part of, not the communities outside of their prison walls.
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Just as critically, counting prisoners where they are incarcerated
disenfranchises residents of the communities where they lived before their
incarceration. These residents have committed no crime but nevertheless see
their electoral power diminished by maps which count their neighbors as
residents of a town that is generally far away. This is also an issue of racial
justice: many of the districts whose voting strength would be diluted if prison-
based gerrymandering is continued are communities of color and low-income
communities.
Thank you once again for holding this hearing and the opportunity to
testify today on the critical subject of fair redistricting.
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