TESTIMONY OF BOB COHEN, POLICY DIRECTORCITIZEN ACTION OF NEW YORK

TO THE LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON DEMOGRAPHIC RESEARCH AND REAPPORTIONMENT

ON THE LATFOR DATA RELEASE

AUGUST 4, 2011(written testimony submitted after August 4, 2011 hearing)

For more information, contact:

Bob Cohen, Esq., Policy Director Citizen Action of New York 94 Central AvenueAlbany, NY 12206(518) 465-4600 (ext. 104)bcohen@citizenactionny.orgwww.citizenactionny.org

Chairmen Nozzolio and McEneny and members of the New York State

Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment

(LATFOR). My name is Bob Cohen. I am the Policy Director of Citizen Action of

New York, a statewide membership organization that advocates for racial,

social, economic and environmental justice with chapters or affiliates in seven

communities throughout New York State. Thank you for holding this hearing.

Our state needs and deserves fair redistricting this year that gives the citizens

of New York the representation they deserve in the halls of power here in

Albany. It is also critical that district lines be drawn that respect communities

of interest, with a preference for keeping urban communities within a single

legislative district.

Citizen Action believes that a fair redrawing of the legislative district lines

in New York can only be done by individuals who do not have any self-interest

in the results. Thus, the law in New York State ought to be that legislative

districts are drawn not by legislators, but by an independent commission. So I

speak to you first in your roles as members of the Legislature, to urge you to

support the passing of legislation to abolish LATFOR in favor of the independent

commission New Yorkers deserve. We believe that ending the current system

would be a major step towards ethics in government which voters throughout

New York would no doubt widely applaud. Creation of an independent

commission can be done in a special session in the fall, which seems likely to

occur anyway given the need to address other urgent issues such as the PEF

contract and the creation of a health benefit exchange under the federal

Affordable Care Act.

Whether or not an independent commission is created, it is critical that

the laws as they are currently written be adhered to by state policymakers. As

you know, last year, legislation was enacted to require that incarcerated New

Yorkers be counted where they ought to be counted: in the communities where

they resided before their incarceration.

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However, it was recently reported that some members of LATFOR had

suggested that they did not support LATFOR following the 2010 law, but

instead support using the old system which has contributed to the

underrepresentation of many communities in New York, especially urban areas.

It LATFOR does in fact continue in the role of drawing the new

legislative districts, then it is imperative that you follow the “prison-

based gerrymandering law” in doing so, and count imprisoned New

Yorkers at their home addresses, not as residents of the town where

they are incarcerated.

The media reports that at least some members of LATFOR were not

committed to complying with the “prison-based” gerrymandering law obviously

caused us great concern. However, I was very relieved to hear the clear

assurances during the August 4th hearing from at least three legislators on both

sides of the aisle - including both LATFOR co-chairs - that these media reports

did not reflect their views, and that LATFOR does in fact intend to count those

incarcerated in their home communities. I’d like to thank you for your

commitment today, and your recognition of the importance of

adhering to a statute that was passed last year, irrespective of

whether individual members of LATFOR supported the bill when it was

considered by the Legislature.

From the perspective of Citizen Action, this is a basic question of human

rights. Those incarcerated do not leave their homes by choice, and upon

release they are likely to return to those homes. Data indicates that people are

generally incarcerated only for a relatively short period of time, and then return

to the communities where they lived prior to incarceration. They do not have a

right to vote while in prison, so there is no justification for counting them as

voters there. They deserve to be counted in the communities that they have

been and will be a part of, not the communities outside of their prison walls.

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Just as critically, counting prisoners where they are incarcerated

disenfranchises residents of the communities where they lived before their

incarceration. These residents have committed no crime but nevertheless see

their electoral power diminished by maps which count their neighbors as

residents of a town that is generally far away. This is also an issue of racial

justice: many of the districts whose voting strength would be diluted if prison-

based gerrymandering is continued are communities of color and low-income

communities.

Thank you once again for holding this hearing and the opportunity to

testify today on the critical subject of fair redistricting.

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