Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay is warning that proposed changes to New York’s redistricting process would undermine democracy and ignore the will of voters.
In a column released August 8, Barclay criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul for saying she would consider eliminating the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) — the voter-approved panel responsible for drawing election district maps. He argued the move would put redistricting back in the hands of a single political party, reversing reforms passed in 2014.
Barclay noted that before the IRC, state lawmakers controlled redistricting, a system he said often produced politically driven maps. Voters approved a constitutional amendment to create the commission to ensure “fair and open elections” and protect the voice of New Yorkers.
He also took aim at new legislation introduced by Democrats that would let the state redraw congressional lines mid-decade if other states do the same. Barclay said the proposal amounts to “retaliation” and would allow lawmakers to “out-gerrymander the competition.” He cited policy advisor Rachael Fauss of Reinvent Albany, who argued gerrymandering is not the way to “save American democracy.”
Barclay said the proposals fit a broader pattern of election law changes that strengthen one-party control, warning that the state is “headed down a very dangerous road” that disregards both voter intent and democratic principles.
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