Chosen NJ Legislative Map Favors Democrats

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http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/04/02/ap-source-chosen-nj-legislative-map-favors-dems/

After more than a month of negotiations, the tie-breaking member of an 11-person commission chosen to redraw boundaries for New Jersey’s 40 legislative districts has sided with Democrats in approving a new election map.

Rutgers University political science professor Alan Rosenthal announced his decision privately to Democrats and Republicans on Saturday at the Heldrich Hotel in New Brunswick, where members of the commission had been meeting since last weekend.

An official vote by the commission will be taken at the Statehouse on Sunday.

The contentious process of drawing a new map is done every 10 years following the U.S. Census. The stakes were high: In the past 20 years, the political party that prevailed in the process went on to control the Legislature — Republicans in 1990 and Democrats in 2001.