Fair Districts New Jersey Statement Regarding Democratic State Committee’s Chairmanship

The battle for the Democratic State Committee’s Chairmanship has concluded with an agreement by the current Chair to relinquish some of his appointment power and share the responsibility of selecting the next redistricting commissioners with other legislative and party leaders. While we are not commenting on any leadership compromises reached within the Democratic party, we are concerned with the fact that the Chair “fight” had anything to do with redistricting in the first place.

A struggle for the power to appoint those who will be drawing our new voting district boundary lines demonstrates how this fundamental component of our democracy is being manipulated in New Jersey to advance partisan interests and achieve specific political goals. This runs counter to the principle of “one person, one vote,” in which new voting districts should be drawn to ensure equal and fair representation for all.

We do not want New Jersey left behind as the rest of the country moves toward real redistricting reforms. The Fair Districts New Jersey Coalition will continue advocating for a Constitutional Amendment that meaningfully reforms New Jersey’s legislative redistricting process into one that is more independent, transparent, equitable and community-driven. However, in the absence of a constitutional mandate, those in a position to select redistricting commissioners have a choice: they can continue to leave everyday voters without a seat at the table, or they can take steps toward empowering voters and improving our democracy.

As such, we are once again sending the Chairs of the Democratic and Republican State Committees – as well as anyone advising them in the selection process, or anyone deputized to make commission appointments of their own – our recommendations to improve the independence of the Apportionment Commission. If our voting districts continue to be drawn behind closed doors by individuals with conflicts-of-interest or personal stakes in the final district map, it will call into question the legitimacy of our elections and further erode the public’s trust in our government. We urge those responsible for selecting the commissioners to exclude from consideration the following categories of individuals:

1. Anyone who currently holds elective public office at the Federal, State, county or municipal level, whether they hold such office as a result of an election or an appointment;
2. Anyone who currently holds an elective or appointed party office at the Federal or State level;
3. Anyone who has been a major party’s candidate in a general election for any Federal, State, county or municipal level elective public office during the last three years;
4. An officer or employee of, a consultant to, or someone holding a contract with an individual who holds elective public office at the State or county level, the Senate Democratic Office, the Senate Republican Office, the Assembly Democratic Office or the Assembly Republican Office;
5. An officer, employee, or paid consultant of a political party, political party committee, political committee, continuing political committee, legislative leadership committee, or campaign committee for a candidate for Federal or State elective public office;
6. A registered governmental affairs agent or lobbyist in the State; or
7. An immediate family member of the Governor, a member of the Legislature, or a member of Congress.

Members of the New Jersey Apportionment Commission should also be representative of the racial, ethnic and gender diversity of the state’s population. They should be individuals who will best be able to redraw the boundary lines of our new voting districts in an independent, honest and impartial manner; who will uphold the principles of the Voting Rights Act; and who will not engage in any effort to gerrymander our districts in any way.

We also encourage the consideration of qualified unaffiliated or third-party voters in the decision-making process. Most registered voters in New Jersey are not affiliated with one of the two major political parties. For the Commission to truly reflect the electorate, these voters should have an opportunity to serve alongside registered Democrats and registered Republicans.

And one way to ensure the Apportionment Commissioners reflect New Jersey’s diversity and meet the aforementioned criteria would be to give ordinary voters the opportunity to apply for one of the positions. California’s redistricting model highlights the benefits of turning over the line-drawing power to qualified members of the public.

True redistricting reform is possible in New Jersey if we all agree districts belong to the people, and voters should be choosing their elected officials, not the other way around.  Thank you.

Signatories:

Action Together New Jersey
BlueWaveNJ
Clean Water Action
Environment New Jersey
Glen Rock People Power
League of Women Voters of New Jersey
New Jersey Appleseed PILC
New Jersey Citizen Action
New Jersey Highlands American Promise Association

New Jersey Institute for Social Justice

NJ7 Forward

Our Revolution Essex County

STAND Central NJ