Residents in several Niagara County election districts will have new congressional representation heading into next year.
Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a new Democrat-drawn congressional map into law Feb. 28, which will bring redistricting across New York state, which includes boundary shifts of the 23rd, 24th and 26th Congressional districts.
All election districts in the Town of Cambria and and some in Lewiston will be redistricted from the 26th District, vacated by former U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins, to the 24th District which is currently represented by Claudia Tenney.
Several election districts in the Town of Lockport that currently fall within the 24th and 26th districts will mostly be moved into the 23rd District, represented by U.S. Rep. Nick Langworthy. Two town election districts will be split between the 23rd and 24th districts.
All election districts in the Town of Pendleton will be moved from the 26th District to the 23rd District.
All districts in the towns of Porter and Wilson will be moved from the 26th District to the 24th District.
The bulk of the 23rd District is in the Southern Tier and Erie County and then spans to Tioga County along the New York/Pennsylvania border.
The 24th District spans across Lake Ontario, except Monroe County, all the way to Jefferson County in upstate New York.
Multiple election districts in the Town of Wheatfield will now be split between the 23rd and 26th Congressional districts respectively.
Voting in the April 30 special election to fill Higgins’ seat, a contest between state Sen. Tim Kennedy and West Seneca Supervisor Gary Dickson, will not be impacted by redistricting according to Niagara County Board of Elections commissioner Jennifer Sandonato.