Schenectady County OKs weighted voting to start in ’12

PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Lamendola

Despite opposition from civil rights and good government groups, the Schenectady County Legislature Tuesday night voted 13-2 to adopt a weighted voting system rather than add more members to balance electoral districts affected by changes in population.

The action by the Democrat-controlled Legislature could face a legal challenge, according to legislators and civil rights officials, on grounds weighted voting violates the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting minority representation.

“This scheme is way out of constitutional fact,” declared Minority Leader Robert Farley, R-Glenville, who voted against the local law. Legislator James Buhrmaster, R-Glenville, also voted against it.

The local law takes effect Jan. 1, subject to a permissive referendum. It amends the County Charter to allow weighted voting for the first time since its adoption 46 years ago. The charter created the Legislature, replacing a board of supervisors. It created four districts: two for the city; one for Glenville and Niskayuna; and one for Rotterdam, Princetown and Duanesburg.

Legislator Vincent DiCerbo, D-Schenectady, defended weighted voting, saying, “This plan leaves the one-person, one-vote process in place” and that it “mathematically provides more representation than the current system.”

Under weighted voting, the vote of each city representative will be worth slightly more than one, while the vote of each town representative will be worth slightly less than one. Under the weighted vote system, each legislator would represent on average 10,315 people, ensuring equal representation per district.

Eleven people spoke against the weighted voting proposal during a public hearing held before the Legislature voted. They urged the Legislature to delay the vote and to seek additional public input into the apportionment process.

Rev. Theodore Ward, president of the Schenectady chapter of the NAACP, said “weighted voting is not the only option.” He said he has communicated his concerns about the county’s decision to adopt weighted voting to state representatives of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Monica M. Arias Miranda, president of the Hispanic Coalition of New York, said weighted voting fails to ensure that the electoral process is open to participation by minority voters. “Schenectady County residents have not been given a fair and adequate explanation on the proposal, nor have they been given the opportunity to actively participate in the apportionment decision-making process that will be in place for the next 10 years,” she said.

Rev. Phil Grigsby, executive director of Schenectady Inner City Ministry, said “serious questions have been raised about weighted voting by respected members of the community” and that legislators should not ignore public concerns.

Joanne Tobiessen, president of the League of Women Voters of Schenectady, said the organization is concerned “about the apparent haste to adopt weighted voting,” calling on the Legislature to conduct further study.

Tobiessen said other counties have adopted weighted voting with “varied results” and that the League of Women Voters of New York State “supports a nonpartisan approach to redistricting.”

Ruth Bergeron was vice president of the League of Women Voters of Schenectady in 1964-65 and worked with the county to develop the charter. Tuesday night, she said she and others eliminated weighted voting in 1964 because it was viewed as making one group more valuable than another in building support for legislation.

Speaking to the current local law, Bergeron said, “This legislation is not the result of an open process, nor did it involve meaningful public participation.”

Legislator Brian Gordon, D-Niskayuna, said the county is under a time constraint “imposed on us 10 years ago to make a decision within 60 days” regarding reapportionment.

The 60-day clock starting ticking March 23, said Legislator Gary Hughes, D-Schenectady, requiring the Legislature make a decision, or else the Schenectady County Board of Elections would be charged with redistricting.

County Attorney Chris Gardner proposed the weighted voting system to majority members of the Legislature as a cost-effective way of addressing population changes revealed by the 2010 Census. He said other proposals called for expanding the Legislature to 24 members or creating single-member districts, both of which the majority in the Legislature rejected at a caucus.

The 2010 Census showed that Schenectady County grew by some 8,000 residents to 154,727 people. Most of the growth is in District 1, comprising the northern half of the city, and District 2, the southern half of the city.

Niskayuna and Glenville, which make up District 3, saw the next largest growth. District 1 has 32,717 people; District 2 has 33,418; District 3 has 51,261 people; and District 4 has 37,331 people.

Under the current 15-member configuration, Districts 1, 2 and 4 have population variances that exceed the charter’s recommendation and those outlined under federal law. If left as is, a District 1 legislator would represent 10,905 people; a District 2 legislator, 11,139; a District 3 legislator, 10,252; and a District 4 legislator, 9,332.