GOP to Add a Seat to NY Senate, Protecting Power

New York's Senate Republicans, hoping to hold their slim majority, will add a seat to the chamber under a redistricting process one Democrat calls "a farce."

Republican Sen. Michael Nozzolio says the redistricting commission dominated by the Legislature's majority parties are simply following the state constitution.

Nozzolio says Tuesday that the constitution sets the number of Senate seats according to population and other factors.

Democratic Sen. Martin Malav Dilan says Republicans are simply trying to save their majority by adding a seat in a Republican area. He says the power grab shows the commission's public hearings and its operation are "a farce" designed to continue protecting majority power.

Republicans hold a 32-30 majority in the Senate, their only power base in Albany.