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A race too close to call A week later, Griffin and Curran waited on Assembly vote count By DANiEl oFFNER doffner@liherald.com
Tim Baker/Herald
NASSAU CoUNtY PUBliC Administrator Brian Curran hoped to reclaim his Assembly seat from incumbent Judy Griffin.
Election night had come and gone, but the race for the 21st Assembly District seat still remained undecided. Assemblywoman Judy Griffin, the Democratic incumbent, and Brian Curran, her Republican challenger and predecessor, remained neck-and-neck as Nassau County election officials continued counting ballots this week, trying to determine who will represent the district in Albany next year. Curran continued to hold a
slim lead as the Herald went to press on Tuesday, but that lead continued to shrink as absentee ballots were tallied. Many voters said they were surprised and upset that a winner had yet to be declared, over a week after the election. “It leads to speculation that if you can’t accurately count ballots in a small area within a few hours,” Steve Rakeman, of Rockville Centre, said. “I would think that it leads to speculation that someone is playing games with them.” Others, however, said they Continued on page 10
South Shore residents sound off over redrawing of maps By JUAN lASSo jlasso@liherald.com
After more than two months of intense back-and-forth, the Nassau County Temporary Districting Advisory Commission is entering its final phase of redrawing the county’s 19 legislative districts ahead of next year’s elections. The commission is in the midst of tweaking each party delegation’s proposed redistricted maps, which were revealed last week. A tentative final vote is set for Nov. 21. The commission’s final recommendation will be handed over to the County Lgislature for district lines to
officially be drawn up. But in the past two months, Nassau County residents have sought to weigh in on the process by providing feedback at a string of public hearings that kicked off on Aug. 31. The once-in-a-decade practice of redistricting is more than an updating of the boundaries of the County Legislature’s districts to better reflect the county’s new post-census demographics. Changing those lines changes the makeup of district voters. It can change the identity, allegiance, and political priorities of a district’s representative, and of the legislative delegation. It can
i
want to emphasize the need for five minority-majority districts.
AMil ViRANi Resident
also indicate whether a state’s diverse communities are adequately represented in its legislative bodies. With so much hanging in the balance, the biggest concern for voters and advocates alike is the potential for these changes to go
awry if a district falls prey to partisan gerrymandering by either political party. It is a practice in which parties redraw district boundaries to split up, evade or pack together voters away from certain districts and toward others in an effort to swing the perceived odds of election victory in their favor.
Many South Shore residents who attended a hearing on Oct. 26 at Elmont Memorial Library not only expressed concer n about a botched redistricting process, but also called for a clear departure from anything resembling the current district map — at least when it comes to Continued on page 14