County OKs GOP's district map

In a 3-2 decision Aug. 11, a state appellate court in the 2nd Judicial Department upheld the Republican redistricting plan for Nassau County’s 19 legislative districts, which calls for new lines to be drawn for the Sept. 13 primary and the Nov. 2 general election.

The decision came less than a month after Supreme Court Justice Steven M. Jaeger ruled that the plan — crafted in April by the county attorney’s office at the suggestion of Peter Schmitt, a Republican who represents the 12th Legislative District — did not apply to the 2011 election.

Over the past several months, Democrats have argued that the Republican plan violates the Nassau County charter’s requirement for a deliberative process of redrawing district lines. Jaeger agreed, ruling on July 21 that Section 112 of the charter requires that district lines be “described” by the Legislature within six months after it receives data from the U.S. Census — not redrawn, as Republicans contended.

According to Jaeger’s ruling, the charter requires the redistricting process to begin in 2012 and end in 2013, in time for the 2013 election. The county charter requires legislative districts to be redrawn every 10 years, and the last map was drawn in 2003.

If the appellate court’s decision is upheld, 576,000 voters — nearly half of Nassau County’s population — would be shifted out of their current legislative districts and into new ones, and certain districts, including the 19th, would be moved across the county. Locally, the plan would add portions of Elmont and Franklin Square to a district currently dominated by Valley Stream, North Valley Stream and Floral Park. Although Elmont and a portion of Franklin Square are currently united in District 3, the new plan would separate large chunks of the two communities, and only small sections of each would remain in District 3.