The Albany County Redistricting Commission (ACRC) and the Majority Minority District Redistricting Subcommittee (MMD) announced today that they have approved a Milestone Schedule for the completion of their work. In addition, both the ACRC and the MMD have begun to receive feedback and maps generated by members of the public. The feedback and maps received are being considered in deliberations and the drafting of maps.

The ACRC and the MMD were created by Albany County Local Law 8 of 2019. The purpose of the ACRC is to propose new Albany County Legislature district maps that will support elections of the Albany County Legislature for the next ten years. The separate MMD is tasked with configuring the majority minority legislative districts and recommending such to the ACRC. The nine-member ACRC and the seven-member MMD have held two public hearings and are engaged, with the assistance of legal counsel and consultants, in redrawing the district lines of all 39 districts of the Albany County Legislature.

The Milestone Schedule reflects the commitment of the ACRC and the MMD to complete their work by the end of June 2022. To achieve their legislative mandate to submit a report and a draft local law to the Albany County Legislature by the end of June, the ACRC and the MMD will be holding further public hearings seeking public comments on draft district maps when they are released. The MMD will also be holding a series of Community Engagement Forums in minority communities. A full list of the Forums can be found on the Commission website at albanycounty.com/acrc.

The MMD had previously released an initial draft of proposed majority minority districts and just this past week released a revision of that map that considers public feedback received. Both of these maps, as well as the map of the current 39 legislative districts and the maps which have been proposed and submitted by members of the public, as well as other relevant information on the ACRC and the MMD and their work, are all available on the Commission website at albanycounty.com/acrc. Members of the public are encouraged to review the maps posted on the Commission website and to craft their own versions of a specific district or all 39 districts. Comments may also be submitted by email to MMDRedistricting@albanycountyny.gov and redistricting@albanycountyny.gov.

As shown on the Milestone Schedule, the first draft map of all 39 districts is expected to be released the week of May 16, 2022 with a public hearing for comments on that map to take place on May 26. The MMD also has its own public hearings scheduled for May 4th and May 18th. Maps released will be posted on the Commission website, together with information on how to register to comment on the districts shown on that map. The hearing format will be a hybrid with persons wishing to comment in person being able to do so in downtown Albany, while those wishing to comment on Zoom will also be able to do so.

• ACRC-MMD Press Release (May 2, 2022)
• Milestone Schedule