Public Question No. 3 - Constitutional Amendment To Change the Legislative Redistricting Schedule If Census Data Is Delayed

Summary

This constitutional amendment changes when new legislative districts are created if the federal census data is delayed. The United State Constitution requires that a census be taken every ten years to count the people living in the country. Census data is then used to create new legislative districts to ensure residents have equal representation from elected officials. However, the current COVID-19 pandemic has delayed census data collection. This may delay census data to the states and may affect the creation of new legislative districts. The State Constitution requires an Apportionment Commission to create new legislative districts every ten years after the federal census is completed. If the census data is delayed, the new legislative districts may not be created in a timely manner to hold elections. This constitutional amendment would postpone state legislative redistricting until after the election on November 2, 2021, should the state receive federal census data after February 15, 2021. Therefore, the current state legislative districts, which have been used since 2011, would remain in use for the 2021 election, and the state legislative elections in 2023 would be the first to use districts based on data from the 2020 U.S. Census. The constitutional amendment would also use this delayed timeline in future redistricting cycles should federal census data be received after February 15 in 2031, 2041, 2051, and so on.

A "YES" vote on this constitutional amendment is a vote to postpone the state legislative redistricting process if the state receives federal census data after February 15, 2021.

A "NO" vote on this constitutional amendment is a vote to keep the requirement that new state legislative district maps be certified within one month of the state receiving federal census data or February 1, whichever date is later.

Arguments

"New Jersey today is not the New Jersey of ten years ago, when the current map was drawn. Most notably, our population is significantly more racially diverse now than it was then, with people of color comprising 45% of our population — a 10.6% increase from a decade ago.", in opposition to Public Question No. 3 (Learn more)

"Making matters worse, the constitutional amendment on the ballot doesn’t only apply for next year’s election, but says that for any year following the census, if the data is not provided by Feb. 15, the existing map would be used for another election cycle. This means that, for instance, if the Census 2020 data is delayed, the old map would be used until 2023.", in opposition to Public Question No. 3 (Learn more)

"With the risk of receiving census data late, there are no perfect solutions to this challenge. But there are other solutions. We could change election dates next year. We could switch from odd-year to even-year elections like most of the nation have, thereby preventing this issue from coming up again. And if we do use the existing map in 2021, we could do so for just one year and not make this scheme permanent.", in opposition to Public Question No. 3 (Learn more)

"This pandemic is creating an unforeseeable impact on the timeframe needed to get a complete and accurate census count. An undercount could not only prove detrimental to the way federal funding gets apportioned over the next decade, but would largely affect the way our communities are represented through all levels of government.", in support of Public Question No. 3 (Learn more)

"Right now, minority communities, including the Hispanic and Asian communities, are drastically underrepresented in our State Legislature—in part because old Census records haven’t kept up with changing demographics. If we want to give everyone a voice in our government, we must draw legislative districts that accurately and faithfully reflect the most up-to-date Census data, while also drawing on comprehensive input from the public that this data represents.", in support of Public Question No. 3 (Learn more)

Measure Details