Dems file suit over new county maps

Suit says partisan advantage designed to give GOP edge

BY CAMERYN OAKES

Nassau County residents and the Nassau County Democratic Committee filed a lawsuit against Nassau County’s recently redrawn legislative map, citing an alleged illegal partisan advantage for the Republican Party in county Legislature elections.

“This is an illegal map that prevents all voters, especially voters of color, from electing candidates of their choice,” NAACP New York State Conference Civic Engagement Chair H. Scottie Coads said. “This lawsuit is about ensuring everyone’s votes mean something.”

The new Nassau County Legislative District map, which would be in effect for the next 10 years, was approved Feb. 27 by the Republicancontrolled Legislature along party lines. The map was presented on Feb. 21 by the majority caucus.

The map set off a firestorm when Democrat Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) criticized the Republican legislators for working in “secrecy” so they could keep their advantage over the next decade.

Abrahams has been placed into a district inhabited by more Republicans than the current 1st District. Democratic County Legislator Arnold Drucker expressed in a February statement his displeasure with the proposal that splits Plainview and redraws the lines in his district.

“The current proposal is an extreme partisan gerrymander that carves apart Plainview and other communities across the 16th Legislative District,” Drucker previously said. “This is not about the political fate of one person over another – it

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