A special election will take place on August 23 to fill the remainder of Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado’s term in Congress, which concludes on December 31. The now-vacant 19th district includes all of Ulster County.

Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan, a Democrat, will face Dutchess County Executive Mark Molinaro, a Republican to fill that vacancy.

It’s possible that the winner will only serve a few months, most of which will be spent on the campaign trail to run for a two-year term.

On the other hand, it’s also possible that both candidates will be sworn into office come January, as they will be on different ballots in November, to serve in separate Congressional Districts.

Redistricting will put Ryan in the new 18th Congressional District which includes all of Orange and Ulster Counties. His opponent in November, regardless of the outcome of the special election, will be Assemblyman Colin Schmitt of New Windsor, a Republican who set his sights on unseating Incumbent Sean Patrick Maloney more than a year ago.

But Maloney is now running in the new 17th District, which includes portions of Rockland, Westchester and Putnam where he faces a primary challenge from Democratic State Senator Alessandra Biaggi. Win or lose Maloney will vacate his Newburgh District office by the end of the year, and bid goodbye to his supporters in Newburgh, Marlborough and the Town of Montgomery.

Those communities will also have a new State Senator in January. James Skoufis will seek re-election, but redistricting will push his district further to the west. Newburgh and Montgomery are cut off from the rest of Orange County and must choose among two Dutchess County residents - Democrat Julie Shiroishi or Republican Rob Rolinson. Marlborough, along with the rest of Southern Ulster County, is now part of the newly-drawn 41st senate district, where residents will have a choice among two incumbents: Democrat Michelle Hinchey or Republican Sue Serino.

If it all sounds confusing, it’s because it truly is, and the fact that it took so long to resolve made matters worse. Just a month ago, Republican Rich Amedure journeyed from his home in an Albany suburb to the Highland springiest to campaign. He was set to challenge Hinchey for her senate seat. But he was left without a district two days later, when the map was finalized.

Gerrymandering isn’t supposed to make sense. It’s meant to give one party an advantage over the other, often by pushing incumbents head-to-head in the same district and by giving one party a decided advantage over the other at election time.

It’s hard to see how communities like Newburgh, Montgomery and Marlborough are better served by this process, when the right to re-elect their chosen candidate is determined, not by voters, but by political insiders some 90 miles away.