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State dems sue to block new 63rd district

Feb 02, 2012 1:35 am
Joseph Spector in the Politics on the Hudson blog reports that Senate Democrats sued in state court Tuesday challenging the creation of a new Senate seat by the task force drawing district lines. The plaintiffs, who include Senate Democrats and citizens, allege that Republicans violated the state constitution when they created a 63rd district to bolster their narrow hold on the chamber. Republicans hold a slim 32-29 seat majority in the state Senate with one vacancy. The new seat covers all of Greene County, parts of Ulster, Albany, and Montgomery counties. The lawsuit will complicate matters for the state Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, which is trying to finalize 213 legislative lines. New Yorkers are still waiting to see the boundaries for the 27 seats in the U.S. House of Representative. Read Politics on the Hudson for more on the suit over the 63rd.