Featured Story

Redistricting hearing set on Shelter Island: Final map would inform August primary voting

The Suffolk County Legislature 2022 Reapportionment Commission is holding a public hearing at Shelter Island Town Hall Thursday at 2 p.m. to hear from residents about a reapportionment plan that could be adopted on June 30.

The Commission opted to hold public hearings throughout the County to ascertain whether residents endorse a court-ordered revision of a redistricting plan that redraws district lines affecting candidates for the offices of New York State Senate and the United States House of Representatives.

Original maps developed in a redistricting plan were declared invalid in March by Judge Patrick McAllister, a judge for the Steuben County Court Multi-Bench Seventh Judicial District of New York. He is a registered Republican, elected in 2018.

Judge McAllister originally gave State lawmakers until April 11 to redraw the redistricting plan, saying if the Democratic-controlled Legislature couldn’t come up with a “bipartisantly supported” map, he would appoint an expert to withdraw the lines.

As of May 21, a new court-drawn congressional map had replaced the original redistricting map but Democrats have charged that it fails to reflect changes in minority population.

Before the County Legislative Commission votes to accept or reject the latest map that will determine which candidates can run in which districts in the Aug. 23 primary for the two offices, it wants public input from residents.