Hightstown and East Windsor, which have been represented by U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman of the 12th Congressional District, are being shuffled into a reconfigured 3rd Congressional District.
The two towns will be represented by U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, who is serving his second, two-year term representing the 3rd Congressional District. Kim, like Watson Coleman, is a Democrat.
The move from the 12th Congressional District to the 3rd Congressional District was triggered by the congressional redistricting process that occurs every 10 years, following the U.S. Census population count.
The new map outlining New Jersey’s 12 congressional districts was adopted in December 2021, and filed with the New Jersey Secretary of State on Jan. 6.
There are 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and redistricting is the process that allocates seats to each state on the basis of population, according to the New Jersey Redistricting Commission.
The purpose is to ensure that each person is equally represented in the U.S. House of Representatives – one person, one vote.
The congressional districts are created to be as equal in population as possible, according to the commission. This means a town may be moved from one district to another.