Media Release: Rochester, NY – September 22, 2022.
During a recent press conference, Democrats voiced their concerns over a redistricting map put forth by Rachel Barnhart and the GOP, claiming it to be a bipartisan effort, despite the Democratic Caucus leadership never agreeing to it. The map in question, presented to the Monroe County Legislature by President LaMar and Legislator Barnhart on September 6, has been criticized for unfairly concentrating minorities, particularly Black voters, into districts already known for electing Black and Latino officials. Notably, Legislative District 21, Legislator Barnhart’s district, would see a significant shift from a majority-minority district to one where over 60% of the voting-age population is white, marking the largest demographic change across the maps.
Professional data analysis reveals that the proposed map only establishes two majority-Black districts, with Districts 25 and 27 exceeding 50% Black Voting Age Population, while Districts 22, 28, and 29 fall short. Those responsible for drawing the map lack expertise in the Voting Rights Act and legal matters, resorting to a free redistricting tool for the task.
Advocates for the 'Crescent’ map have been promoting it using incomplete and inaccurate information, prompting Legislator Yversha Roman to highlight the discrepancies. The focus on preserving neighborhoods, emphasized by Legislator Barnhart initially, has now seemingly taken a backseat to other considerations, with Legislator Mercedes Vazquez Simmons stressing the importance of maintaining community integrity during the redistricting process.
Legislator William Burgess pointed out that the key concern should be whether minority groups can elect their preferred candidates, a criterion he believes is met by the current districts. The division caused by the proposed map is seen as detrimental to the community, and calls for a more thoughtful and inclusive approach to redistricting have been made by the Democratic legislators.
Supporters of the 'Crescent’ map have used limited information to launch a PR campaign for a map they favor. The information is misleading and inaccurate. “We received information that provides demographic data for the proposed map. Based on expert data, the ‘Crescent’ map only has two majority-Black districts. This is troubling as the map falls short on its promise, while breaking up communities. The right thing to do is to determine whether we can create six effective majority-minority districts that provide for more opportunities to elect Black representatives,” said Legislator Yversha Roman.
“When we started this redistricting process, Legislator Barnhart told us ‘neighborhoods, neighborhoods, neighborhoods.’ She, as our former Assistant Minority Leader, encouraged us to involve our communities and fight to keep neighborhoods together. When Legislator Barnhart saw the writing on the wall that a sensible map might be drawn for her district, the importance of keeping neighborhoods together was rebranded as ‘pretty shapes.’ These neighborhoods are not pretty shapes. They are the backbone of our communities, often made up of individuals that have lived in their neighborhoods for decades. Splitting neighborhoods and communities in an electoral process is a textbook strategy for disenfranchisement and no one is buying it,” Said Legislator Mercedes Vazquez Simmons.
“The right question to ask is does the minority group have the opportunity to elect their candidate of choice? We believe that answer is yes, and that a legal and statistical analysis will confirm that. In fact, we already have five districts that historically elect the candidate of choice for Black and Brown voters. What I have seen is hurtful to the community. This has torn the community apart and should not be tolerated. Especially, when the data proves that our neighborhoods should stay intact,” said Legislator William Burgess.
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