Westchester Insider: Westchester County Board of Legislators: Press Release: WESTCHESTER COUNTY BOARD OF LEGISLATORS ANNOUNCES PUBLIC INPUT SESSIONS FOR COUNTY LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING.

WESTCHESTER COUNTY BOARD OF LEGISLATORS ANNOUNCES PUBLIC INPUT SESSIONS FOR COUNTY LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING.

Four Public Input Sessions Around the County to Engage Constituents.

 

 

White Plains, NY — As the Westchester County Board of Legislators embarks in the reassessment of the County’s seventeen legislative districts, it will hold four public input sessions to interactively engage residents in this important process.

 

The scheduled input sessions aim to educate the public about the proposed changes to the legislative district boundaries and to provide an opportunity for feedback. Each session will have live presentations made by Legislators, visual aids such as maps and videos, and a Q & A period. Wednesday’s Central Westchester meeting at the Westchester County Board of Legislator’s Chamber will allow remote participation. Information on how to  speak remotely is available online at https://www.westchesterlegislators.com/redistricting2022.  

 

Redistricting is required every 10 years after a new census. The 2020 U.S. census revealed that Westchester County’s population had increased, putting us over the one million mark for the first time in our history. Because the increase is greater in some parts of the County than others, the work before us is to readjust our legislative districts so that the population of each are as equitably split as possible. This readjustment will ensure equal representation for all our residents, and will reflect our local municipalities more accurately.

 

Chairwoman Catherine Borgia (D - Cortlandt, Croton on Hudson, Ossining, Briarcliff Manor, Peekskill) said, “Now that more people call Westchester home, we have a duty to ensure their fair and impartial representation within our body. While most districts will remain largely the same, the public’s involvement in this process is a vital component to its success.”

 

In addition, there are general requirements regarding redistricting that we must follow including:

·                     Districts must have a substantially equal population -- currently in New York State that means that the districts must have less than a 5% total population deviation between the highest population district and the lowest population district

·                     Districts must be contiguous -- you must be able to get from any one point in a district to any other point in a district without leaving the district

·                     Districts must be compact; it is generally accepted that, all things being equal, the more compact a district is, the better

·                     Prohibition of discrimination in redistricting on the basis of race, color, or membership in a protected minority group, as defined by the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965: Section 2

“It is exciting to see the advancement we’ve made in just ten years. Not only did the 2020 Census data prove our County has grown in population, it has also grown more diverse. The proposed new maps were produced cooperatively to reflect Westchester’s quick changing demographics,” said Majority Leader Christopher Johnson (D – Yonkers).