The editorial board urges New Yorkers to vote for these candidates in three crucial primaries.
 | By Jyoti Thottam Editorials Editor |
The Jan. 6 hearings and the midterm elections for Congress are dominating this year's political news, but another big story — the redrawing of congressional districts and criticism of partisan gerrymandering — may be just as important for the future of American democracy. Jamelle Bouie, an Opinion columnist, touched on that issue this year, and Jesse Wegman, my colleague on the editorial board, recently wrote about gerrymandering in Texas. |
This summer, the Times editorial board has looked closely at the consequences of gerrymandering in New York. The primary races to represent the state in Congress were delayed by two months to the end of the summer because of an ugly and confusing political battle: Democrats in Albany tried to redo the state's congressional map; the courts found that their attempt violated the state Constitution's ban on partisan gerrymandering. Voters then had to wait for a court-appointed expert to redraw the map. |
In three districts, in New York City and its northern suburbs, the changes were particularly dramatic, as the board noted in an editorial: "Some of the districts, like the 10th, include parts of several previous districts. In the 17th, elected officials found that their homes no longer were within the districts they represented. So they had to either move or switch to new districts. In the 12th, the district was consolidated with another, leading to an intensely competitive primary." The editorial board, which I joined in February, does not make endorsements in every election, but because of the unusual circumstances, we decided to do so for the Aug. 23 Democratic primaries in these three districts. |
We interviewed all of the leading candidates and published transcripts of our interviews; those discussions, as well as extensive research and deliberation among the board members, informed our decisions. The editorial board's choices for the best candidates to represent these districts are Jerrold Nadler, Sean Maloney and Dan Goldman. I encourage you to read our interviews with all the candidates and, if you're in New York, to vote in these crucial elections. |
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