New Jersey Republican lawmakers are characterizing a Democratic proposal to delay legislative redistricting as a way to hold on to power and manipulate elections to their advantage.
Several Democratic members of the Assembly and state Sen. Nicholas Scutari, D-Union, want to delay the process until 2023 because of delays in the Census count. The move would require a constitutional amendment that must be approved by voters.
New Jersey is one of only two states that holds a legislative election in 2021. Lawmakers are required to redraw district lines within 60 days of receiving the updates from the Census Bureau. If the information is not received until July 2021, that will pose challenges for state lawmakers, Scutari said.
“That will make it all but impossible to get the accurate information needed to draw legislative districts that are fair and accurate,” Scutari said. “We need to be prepared to protect against the severe disruptions that would occur if the data isn’t available in time.”
Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean Jr., who is also running for Congress, said the request was just a cover so that Democrats could manipulate the election.
“They tried to do an end run during the Christmas season in 2018,” Kean said in a statement. “Now, when they think everyone is distracted by COVID, they yet again want to take advantage of conditions to slip it past under cover of darkness.”
Sen. Joe Pennacchio called it a ploy.
“As a legislator, my priorities begin and end with the interests of the people in my district who selected me as their representative,” Pennacchio said. “If I placed a higher value on partisan power, the Democrat plan would make more sense, but for the local residents who depend on us when they send us to Trenton, this is an injustice.”
Democrats say rushing a legislative redistricting proposal is not fair to people of color.
“Our communities of color must be protected by census accuracy,” said Rep. Britnee Timberlake, D-Essex/Passaic, one of the bill’s co-sponsors. “We must ensure the Census Bureau has the time necessary to complete as accurate a count as possible, regardless of the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and free of political pressure from states to submit data before it is ready.”
The bill would need to pass the House and Senate by Aug. 3 to make it on the November ballot. Three-fifths of both Houses would have to approve the measure.
The Assembly Judiciary Committee will discuss the bill when they meet at 3 p.m. Thursday.
