Vote will shape the next decade

Better governance requires better elected officials. Too often, voters don't have a choice of stellar candidates, strong and dynamic ones whose ideas and records were illuminated by a truly competitive contest.

There's a reason for that: gerrymandering. That's what usually happens each decade when politicians use the latest census data to redraw the lines of electoral districts, from county legislatures right up to the U.S. Congress.

Redistricting is already under way in Albany for the State Legislature and the next Congress, where New York will lose two seats. At the start of 2012, the newly elected county legislatures will approve the maps setting their boundaries.

Except for Congress, all of the elected officials designing and approving these new borders stand to benefit from them. The results, in Albany, Hauppauge and Mineola, will likely be maps full of squiggly, illogical lines that protect incumbents, favor a political party or empower specific groups of voters. Tying communities of interest together and preserving geographic harmony aren't priorities when there's power to be seized.

Pay attention. Tuesday's vote will have consequences for the 2014 legislative elections, and the rest of the decade. And what happens in Albany in the next two months could determine the state's balance of power for the next 10 years.