Every 10 years, when the census and the demographic accounting by the United States is finished, each state is obliged to redraw the borders of its electoral districts.  This process, which determines the number of representatives each district sends to the various governmental bodies, based on its population, is known as redistricting. 

In New York, state legislators from the different political parties are responsible for the redistricting and for drawing the lines of the new electoral districts.  But, since the people who are in charge of this process are political players who want to protect their own seats, the redistricting process has become one of contention and – often – injustice for the residents of the districts, for Latinos more than anyone else. 

LatinoJustice PRLDEF will fight for an equitable redistribution during the coming year 2011, when the redrafting of the electoral district lines is to begin. 

Supposedly, the new lines are to be drawn so as to protect the constitutional principle of "one man, one vote" and so that they will help to create a just and democratic electoral process.  The district lines are supposed to group together voters with similar interests in order to provide them with the political power of electing someone who will safeguard their interests for them.  The United States federal courts, in their interpretation of the redistricting laws, have ruled that populations with similar interests should be kept united in the electoral districts. 

During these past three months, LatinoJustice PRLDEF has been working with the Latino community to assure that we have the highest possible level of participation in the census.  We have sent teams of experts to several states throughout the country to educate people about the only way to obtain political power through the redistricting process: the simple act of filling out the census forms in order to be counted.  Yet in spite of the high level of participation in the census, many Latino residents of this country will still remain uncounted, and this lack of participation will dilute our political power. 

Something we can do to ensure that Latinos and other minority groups achieve a more just representation is to change the New York redistricting law. 

At present there are counties in this state where the current population numbers are inflated through the inclusion, and classification as residents, of the inmates of prisons located in these counties. 

This practice of counting and classifying as residents the prisoners in rural counties means that metropolitan areas (like New York City), where the majority of the prisoners are actually domiciled, do not have an adequate count of their populations.  The result is that some rural districts with small populations receive large amounts of federal aid, while urban areas with larger populations lose millions of dollars. 

The bill known as S-6725, introduced in the New York State Senate, would restore the constitutional principle of "one man, one vote" to the redistricting process in New York.  Such a law would mean that electoral districts would be based on the actual domiciles of prisoners before they were imprisoned. 

We must make sure that redistricting in New York is just and balanced, and that it is done in such a way that our communities will not be fractured in unjust and antidemocratic ways.