Lawrence Township, which has been represented by U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman in the 12th Congressional District, is being shuffled into a reconfigured 3rd Congressional District.
Lawrence Township will be represented by U.S. Representative 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 report.
The new map outlining New Jersey’s 12 congressional districts was adopted in December 2021 and filed with the New Jersey Secretary of State’s office 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 through congressional districts – one person, one vote.
The districts are created to be as equal in population as possible, the commission said. This means a town may be shifted from one congressional district to another.
