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New York ordered to redraw congressional maps, which could decide control of US House
By
Jon Campbell
Published Jul 13, 2023
Modified Jul 14, 2023
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Mark Reinstein
By
Jon Campbell
Published Jul 13, 2023
Modified Jul 14, 2023
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A midlevel New York court sided with Democrats in their quest to reshape the state’s 26 congressional districts, though Republicans are expected to appeal the decision, which could have significant national implications.
The Appellate Division's Third Department issued a 3-2 decision on Thursday ordering the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission to come up with a new congressional map, a decision that — if affirmed by the Court of Appeals, the state’s top court — could give Democratic lawmakers in Albany significant sway over the final product.
The court case, spurred by a lawsuit backed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, or DCCC, could affect which party controls the House of Representatives, which currently has a narrow Republican majority — helped in part by GOP wins in toss-up districts on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley last year. It marks the latest twist in a yearslong saga that has upended electoral politics in a reliably blue state.
“The procedures governing the redistricting process, all too easily abused by those who would seek to minimize the voters' voice and entrench themselves in the seats of power, must be guarded as jealously as the right to vote itself; in granting this petition, we return the matter to its constitutional design,” presiding Justice Elizabeth Garry wrote in an opinion supported by Justices Molly Reynolds Fitzgerald and Eddie McShan.
Justices Stan Pritzker and John Egan Jr. dissented.
“On to the Court of Appeals,” said former Rep. John Faso, who has been leading the New York Republicans’ redistricting efforts.
The decision sets up a blockbuster case for the Court of Appeals, which will ultimately decide whether a new set of congressional maps would be in place for the 2024 elections and remain in place until 2032.
In a statement, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries chided the map-drawing process, saying that the congressional boundaries were drawn by “an unelected, out-of-town special master appointed by an extreme right-wing judge, who himself was handpicked by partisan political operatives.”
At issue is the state’s constitutional process for redrawing state and congressional district lines after the Census, which takes place every 10 years. New York handed over drawing of its district maps to the Independent Redistricting Commission for the first time in 2021.
Under a series of reforms approved by voters in 2014, the commission — a 10-member panel largely made up of people selected by Albany’s legislative leaders — was to craft a set of district maps for legislative approval. If the state Legislature voted them down, the panel would then have to send a second proposal for consideration. Once the Legislature voted the second plan down, lawmakers could draw the lines themselves.
But the process imploded in 2022 after the Democrat-led Legislature voted down the commission’s first set of maps. The panel couldn’t reach consensus on a second proposal, so Democratic lawmakers stepped in and drew the lines themselves.
Republicans successfully sued, with the state courts overturning the congressional lines — drawn to benefit Democrats — and ordering an independent expert, Jonathan Cervas of Carnegie Mellon University, to draw new maps that were put in place beginning with last year’s elections.
The resulting congressional lines made many of New York’s congressional districts more competitive between Republicans and Democrats, with the GOP picking up seats on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley that helped tip the balance of power in the House.
After last year’s elections, Democrats went on to sue, arguing that the state constitution requires the Independent Redistricting Commission to submit a second set of district maps. They asked the courts to order the commission back to work, which would clear the way for the current New York congressional districts to be replaced for 2024.
After Thursday’s decision, it will be up to the Court of Appeals — a seven-judge panel appointed by Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Kathy Hochul, both Democrats — to decide the congressional districts’ ultimate fate, assuming Republicans follow through with their expected appeal.
That same court ruled in favor of Republicans in their redistricting lawsuit last year. But the court has a different makeup now, with a new chief judge — Rowan Wilson, who sided with the Democrats’ redistricting arguments as an associate last year — and a new member, Associate Judge Caitlin Halligan, whom Hochul appointed to the bench earlier this year.
In his statement, Faso accused Democrats of wanting to “rig the congressional district lines in their favor.”
“The public should … understand what is really going on,” he said.
This story has been updated to reflect additional comment.
Tagged
Kathy Hochul
new york state
Politics
elections
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
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