Senate Sends Redistricting Plan To the Voters

TRENTON – Voters will have the opportunity to approve a plan to ensure the fairness and accuracy of the census count that is so important to the redistricting process, Senator Nicholas Scutari said today after the Senate voted in support of a proposed constitutional amendment to extend the timetable for redrawing the legislative districts if the census is delayed.

The proposal, SCR-123, was approved with a Senate vote of 25-15 after gaining the support of the Assembly 51-26. Both tallies surpassed the three-fifths threshold required to send it to the voters this November.

“We already know that the census will be delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the delay could become even longer,” said Senator Scutari, the sponsor of the proposal. “That will make it all but impossible to get the accurate information needed to draw legislative districts that are fair and accurate. An undercount will not only result in reduced federal funding, but also will have a negative impact on fair representation in the Legislature. The amendment will help protect communities of color and other hard-to-count populations that stand to make significant gains due to increases in their numbers over the last decade.”

The New Jersey Constitution requires an Apportionment Commission to create new legislative districts every ten years after the federal census is completed, but if the data is delayed, the new districts can’t be created in time for the November elections.

The Census Bureau has already asked to delay delivery of the data until the end of July 2021. New Jersey is one of two states that hold legislative elections in 2021, creating “a severe scheduling squeeze with damaging consequences,” Senator Scutari said.

The amendment would have the commission delay the creation of the new districts if the Governor receives the federal census data after February 15, 2021. The commission would then adopt the new districts after the November general election, but not later than March 1, 2022. The plan would keep the current legislative district maps in place for an additional two-year term until the 2023 elections.