Originally Published: October 29, 2014
New analysis shows lack of competition in 2014 election cycle: many legislators already elected without a single vote being cast
Prop 1 will return power to New Yorkers, outlaw unfair districts, curb power of legislators and give new power to new yorkers to ban gerrymandering
NEW YORK, NY – Today, Citizens Union, a nonpartisan good government group dedicated to making democracy work for all New Yorkers, released a white paper that shows the deepening effects of partisan gerrymandering in this year’s election cycle. The white paper was released in the days leading up to a November 4th vote on Proposal 1, an amendment on the general election ballot that will reform the redistricting process by outlawing partisan gerrymandering.
According to Citizens Union’s findings, “38 percent of the incumbents running for election this year have in effect already won: they are running unopposed. This is up sharply from 2012, when 28 percent of the incumbents ran unopposed. 45.6 percent of incumbents – almost half – will face either no opponent or only token opposition on November 4. This is up from 42 percent in 2012.
“Even incumbents embroiled in scandal easily win re-election under this system. The result is a parade of long-time legislators forced each year to exit under a cloud. Since 1999, 28 legislators have left office or will leave by the end of this year due to criminal and/or unethical conduct.”
“These findings show the grave importance of voting YES for Proposal 1 this Election Day,” said Dick Dadey, Executive Director of Citizens Union. “Albany is broken and New Yorkers now have the opportunity to fix this rigged system and hold legislators accountable. This state constitutional amendment will ban partisan gerrymandering by outlawing legislative maps drawn for political advantage and put power back in the hands of New Yorkers.”
“Many of our Legislators have already been elected without a single voter casting a vote,” Dadey added.
The white paper found a lack of competition in the 2014 general election:
- This year, 191 incumbents are running for re-election, out of a total of 213 seats in the two Albany chambers (90 percent of races this year have incumbents running for re-election);
- 74 of the incumbents, nearly 40 percent, are running unopposed on November 4. This is up sharply from 2012, when 28 percent of incumbents ran unopposed;
- 84 incumbents this year, 45.6 percent, are running with either no opponent or no major party opponent. This is also an increase over 2012, when 42 percent of incumbents ran with no opponent or no major party opponent.
When combining the primary and general elections, the paper found that:
- 66 of the incumbents running this year, 34.6 percent, will be returned to Albany without any opposition, either on the November ballot or in the primaries;
- 31 percent of all candidates – incumbents and those running for the first time – will be elected without any opposition, either in the primary or in the general election.