The New York state Court of Appeals ordered on Tuesday all of the Empire State’s 26 Congressional Districts redrawn before the 2024 elections, potentially swinging the pendulum in the race for who will control the next Congress.
Republicans gained five House seats in the 2022 midterms in districts redrawn by a federal arbiter after the GOP successfully challenged a redistricting plan fashioned by the Democratic-controlled legislature that spring.
But the 4-3 decision from the Court of Appeals on Dec. 12 mandates that the state’s bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission will now be tasked with coming up with new districts, which will then go before the legislature for approval. The court ordered the commission to file a map no later than Feb. 28, 2024.
“In 2014, the voters of New York amended our Constitution to provide that legislative districts be drawn by an Independent Redistricting Commission,” the decision reads. “The Constitution demands that process, not districts drawn by courts.”
The Independent Redistricting Commission deadlocked evenly along party lines, failing to adopt new maps for Congressional and state legislative districts — thus leading the legislature to adopt its own maps, gerrymandered in the Democratic Party’s favor, and resulting to the GOP legal challenge.
How we got here
The 4-3 decision from the New York Court of Appeals could have major ramifications as Democrats angle for more favorable district lines in the state next year. Republicans, who won control of the House after flipping seats in New York, sought to keep the map in place.
Democrats sued to have last year’s maps thrown out after their party lost a handful of seats in the New York City suburbs, which helped hand control of the House to Republicans.
The case came after Democrats in the state bungled the redistricting process for the 2022 elections, and along with what many considered political miscalculations at the top of the state ticket, drew blame for the party’s loss of the House.
Democrats then filed their own lawsuit to stop last year’s maps from being used in 2024, with the case going all the way to New York’s highest court. They argued that the court-drawn map was never meant to be used in more than one election and that the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission should have another opportunity to draw the maps.
Republicans have argued the districts are politically balanced and should not be discarded.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James, both Democrats, celebrated the decision in a joint statement Tuesday.
“Today’s redistricting decision will ensure all New Yorkers are fairly and equitably represented by elected officials,” they said. “As the Court of Appeals reaffirmed today, district lines should be drawn by the Independent Redistricting Commission. We will continue our efforts to protect voting rights for all New Yorkers.”
Republican lawmakers, such as state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, shared the opposite sentiment.
“Today’s decision by the Court of Appeals is disappointing to all New Yorkers who voted resoundingly to reject Democrats’ blatant attempts to gerrymander districts in their favor,” Ortt said. “This decision diminishes the voice of millions of New Yorkers who demanded fairness, transparency, and accountability in the redistricting process and marks the beginning of an era of partisan decision-making in New York’s highest court.”
Big advantage for the blue party?
Democrats have dedicated major financial and campaign resources to retake districts in New York next year. Republicans are aiming to hold onto the seats, focusing on issues such as crime and the arrival of migrants that they hope will animate suburban voters.
A new Congressional district map in New York could be a huge win for Democrats as the party eyes to pick up the five Congressional seats it lost in the midterms with Joe Biden at the top of the presidential ballot next year. Democratic presidents have won New York state in every presidential election since 1988, often leading to favorable results down the ballot thanks to the increased Democratic turnout.
Some of the Republicans who could be more vulnerable under a new map include Brooklyn/Staten Island Congress Member Nicole Malliotakis (11th District), Long Island Congress Member Anthony D’Esposito (4th District) and Hudson Valley Congress Member Mike Lawler (17th District).
The new map could also favor Democrats in their effort to regain and hold the Queens/Long Island 3rd District seat formerly occupied by George Santos. A special election in February will decide who will take hold the seat for the remainder of the current Congress.