A Look at the Landscape
South Asian Americans have been shut out from holding elected office in New York. The root cause of the problem is the current configuration of legislative district lines which split our neighborhoods into fragments. This fragmentation dilutes the voting power of South Asian-Americans and makes it very hard for our community leaders to run viable election campaigns. Beyond electoral politics, this fragmentation forces our community service providers to seek the help of those from outside our community for resources and to change government policy.
The term ‘redistricting’ refers to the process through which census data is employed to redraw the boundaries of electoral districts at all levels of government, at the local, state and federal level. Redistricting in New York will take place over the next two years. In New York State, the State Assembly and Senate district lines are drawn by the Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment. They will make recommendations for new district lines and submit new maps to the state legislature for approval by February of 2012 for the 2012 state legislative races. We anticipate New York City will announce a Districting Commission and begin its process in 2012 to impact 2013 New York City elections.
Taking Our Seat seeks to redraw legislative district boundary lines so existing South Asian-American communities are not split among many legislative districts.
Our community's common identity is already a reality on the ground. It is only the political lines that have not kept pace. Our common identity is a a reality in the neighborhoods where we have chosen to settle, buy homes and open businesses, it’s the catchment area for our social service providers, it’s the shopping and entertainment district for our families and its where our community has located its institutions and houses of worship. Now, the time has come for the legislative district lines to acknowledge the fact on the ground.
Join us on our campaign and help us to take our seat.
Sincerely,
The Taking Our Seat Team