Patricia Doxsey is reporting for the Daily Freeman preliminary 2020 U.S. Census data suggests the population in Ulster County has declined by roughly 3.2 percent during the past decade, down to just under 177,000 from more than 182,000 residents at the time of the 2010 Census, according to Robert Leibowitz, principal planner for the county Planning Department. That means that when the new district lines are drawn, there will be fewer people in each legislative district than there are today. The members of the county's Commission on Reapportionment were given an overview last week, during the group's first meeting, of the process they will use to create 23 new legislative districts to reflect the shift in the county's population. County Planning Commissioner Dennis Doyle said that while the overall population has declined, commission members will have to look at where those population shifts occurred as they work to redraw new district lines. Doyle also said changes in state law that no longer require counties to consider prison populations when drawing district lines could also result in significant shifts of district boundaries. The seven-member Commission on Reapportionment is charged with using 2020 U.S. Census data to redraw the county's legislative district lines and it must adopt a new redistricting plan no later than July 20, 2022. The new lines are to be in place for the November 2023 election of county legislators. The final census data the commission will use to redraw the district lines will not be available until the end of July. In the meantime, Commission members will meet via Zoom on the second Wednesday of the month until then. Read the full story in the Daily Freeman.