The Albany County Redistricting Commission (“ACRC”) announced today the release of its first draft redistricting map of the whole of Albany County. This map includes the first draft map of the six Majority Minority Districts exactly as drafted by the separate Majority Minority District Redistricting Subcommittee (“MMD”) as of the date of this press release. The full-county draft map was approved at the ACRC meeting on May 9, 2022 and can be viewed at albanycounty.com/acrc.

PLEASE BE AWARE that this first draft ACRC map is subject to change by the release of any subsequent draft MMD map by the subcommittee as well as by comments from the public at upcoming public hearings.

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 are working together, with the assistance of legal counsel and consultants, in redrawing the district lines of all 39 districts of the Albany County Legislature, with a goal of June 30, 2022, for presentation of its recommended map (and draft Local Law) to the County Legislature for its consideration.

The first draft ACRC maps, as well as the maps of the current 39 legislative districts, and all maps which have been proposed and submitted by members of the public, plus 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.

This first draft map of all 39 districts is being released 15 days before ACRC’s third public hearing on May 26 at 5 pm, in order to allow the public time to review this first draft and comment on it. The MMD also has its next public hearing scheduled for May 18th. The first draft map is posted on the Commission website, to be joined soon by information on how to register to comment on the districts or to provide written or oral testimony at the MMD hearing on May 18th or the ACRC hearing on May 26. Both Public Hearings’ format will be “hybrid,” allowing persons to either comment in person at the Harold L. Joyce County Office Building, 112 State Street in downtown Albany, or virtually via Zoom.