NJ's Electoral Maps Will Be Redrawn This Fall: What That Means

NEW JERSEY — Remember last year when all New Jersey residents were asked — sometimes begged — to return those U.S. Census forms?

That was so government and elected officials can see which areas of New Jersey have experienced the most population growth, and which towns have shrunk, as well as the ethnicity and ages of New Jersey residents.

The 2020 U.S. Census report was released last Thursday, Aug. 12.

And it was done because, starting this fall, congressional redistricting will take place in New Jersey. This is where the state's congressional and legislative districts will be redrawn based on the latest census data.

Every 10 years, legislative maps are redrawn based on population growth. Depending on how they drawn, New Jersey residents may very well end up with new representatives to Trenton or U.S. Congress. Or, a district that used to lean Republican may now have more registered Democrats, and vice versa.

That's why it can be controversial how the legislative maps are determined.

Census data is also used to determine how much state and federal funding a town or congressional district gets.

Two separate commissions, made up of six Democrats and six Republicans, will redraw the legislative maps. The tie-breaking vote is retired New Jersey Supreme Court Justice John Wallace. Wallace works for a South Jersey law firm aligned with top Democratic lawmakers, according to the New Jersey Globe.

Redistricting must be completed by mid-January, so the clock is ticking.

"The strategy for each side headed into Congressional redistricting is like the Coca-Cola secret formula; it is top secret!," Ben Dworkin, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship at Rowan University, told NJ Spotlight. "So no one is quite sure how that will play out. Each side will go back and forth trying to find something that the chair will agree to. [Wallace] is the wild card. What he decides will have a tremendous impact on New Jersey's representation for the next decade."

Key findings from the 2020 U.S. Census report in New Jersey:

The 2020 census data shows that not only is New Jersey's population expanding, it has also grown more diverse. Asian-Americans had the highest population growth of any ethnic group in New Jersey, followed by those who are Latino/Hispanic.

Overall, New Jersey's population has grown by about half a million residents since 2010, about 5.7 percent growth in residents.

"This debunks the oft-repeated myth that New Jersey is losing population," wrote Peter Chen of New Jersey Policy Perspective. "New Jersey is also growing more racially and ethnically diverse, especially its child population."

Most of New Jersey’s population gain over the last decade was concentrated in the counties closest to New York City, as well as in Lakewood and surrounding areas in Ocean County. The towns of Lakewood, Jersey City and Newark have experienced the fastest and most population growth since 2010.

While some counties grew by more than 10 percent (Hudson, Ocean, and Essex), others like Sussex, Cape May, Salem, Cumberland, and Atlantic counties lost population.

These New Jersey counties gained the most residents since 2010:

Hudson County: Added 90,000 residents since 2010, a 14 percent growth rate (634,000 residents to 724,000 residents)

Ocean County: Added 60,000 residents since 2010, a 10 percent growth rate (roughly 570,000 to 630,000)

Essex County: Added 80,000 residents since 2010, a 10 percent growth rate (growing from 780,000 residents to 860,000)

These New Jersey counties lost the most residents since 2010:

Sussex County: Lost 5,000 residents since 2010, going from 149,000 residents to 144,000

Cape May County: Lost 2,000 residents since 2010, going from 97,000 residents to 95,000

Salem County: Lost 1,200 residents since 2010, going from 66,000 residents to 64,800

The New Jersey towns (with more than 10,000 residents) that are experiencing the highest population growth since 2010 are:

• Jersey City (+44,852)
• Lakewood (+42,315)
• Newark (+34,409)
• Paterson (+13,533)
• Elizabeth (+12,329)

Latino/Hispanic and Asian populations drove New Jersey’s population growth since 2010:

• New Jersey’s Latino/Hispanic populations grew by 447,000, or 29 percent
• New Jersey’s Asian/Asian-American populations grew by 223,000, or 31 percent.
• Black/African-American population had more modest growth, growing by about 29,000, or 3 percent from 2010.
• White non-Hispanic populations declined by about 399,000, an 8 percent decline from 2010.

The five legislative districts that grew the fastest were District 30 (Lakewood), Districts 31 and 33 (Jersey City), and Districts 28 and 29 (Newark).

Read New Jersey Policy Perspective's entire 2020 New Jersey Census report: https://www.njpp.org/publicati...

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