A redistricting question on the New Jersey ballot that is meant to address a delay caused by the pandemic is pitting good government groups against Democratic legislative leaders.

State Public Question No. 3 asks voters to delay the redrawing of state legislative districts by two years if results from the U.S. Census haven't come in by February 15th.  Because New Jersey holds off-year statewide elections, once a decade the contests are held just as the census data is being released. The Census Bureau usually tries to provide the data to New Jersey (and Virgina) earlier than it does to the other 48 states.

But several good government groups in New Jersey oppose the proposed constitutional amendment, because a two-year delay in redistricting could disenfranchise Latinx and Asian voters, communities that have grown by 400-thousand since the last census.

"It delays any adjustments to where people live now," said Samuel Wang, director of the Princeton Gerrymandering Project. And because the referendum asks voters to amend the state's constitution, "This solution changes the process for redistricting in new jersey permanently in response to a one-time crisis," Wang said.

The New Jersey League of Women Voters and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice also oppose the amendment. 

The question is one of three before New Jersey voters. The state will also vote on legalizing marijuana and decide whether to institute a tax break for veterans in the state constitution.

The deadline to register to vote in New Jersey is Oct. 13.