State Senate leaders say the primary election will be held as scheduled, on April 24th – using the current legislative districts. The signal came as the Legislative Reapportionment Commission blew its first self-imposed deadline.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi said lawmakers won’t try to push back the primary to accommodate the second round of map-making – nor will there be any fiddling with existing district boundary lines.
“Absent legislative or judicial action, they are the rules of the road for the upcoming primary,” said Pileggi. He added that his caucus still believes the 2001 district lines violate the constitutional principle “one person, one vote,” – shorthand, now, for concerns that population shifts over the past decade aren’t reflected by the 2001 district lines, and therefore individual votes in different districts won’t carry equal weight.
A spokesman for the state House Republicans isn’t ruling out a delayed primary election, but such a move would require legislation and the support of the Senate.
The turmoil caused by the court’s remanding of the legislative redistricting maps isn’t over, though. The LRC had intended to use its planned Wednesday meeting to vote on a new preliminary redistricting plan.
“It has come close,” said Judge Stephen McEwen, the commission’s chairman. “We’re not there yet.”
Commission members were mum on the reasons behind the delay. They announced they’ll plan to vote on preliminary district lines for the state House and Senate on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Pileggi said the panel is “well within reaching” its goal of being ready for a vote by then.
“Here we go again, gang,” said McEwen. “Here we go, again.”
