See newest Congressional redistricting map in NY: Which lines changed?

A proposed shift in New York's congressional lines could boost the re-election chances of two upstate House members and weaken those of a third.

One incumbent from each party stands to benefit from the map endorsed by a bipartisan state panel on Thursday.

Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan's 18th District in the Hudson Valley would have an even stronger Democratic voting edge under the new lines, while Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro's neighboring 19th District would shift to become friendlier terrain for him.

Fellow Republican Rep. Brandon Williams wouldn't be so lucky. His Democratic-leaning 22nd District in the Syracuse area would tilt farther toward Democrats.

Other swing districts closely watched in this year's election battles would undergo little or no change.

Republican Rep. Mike Lawler's Hudson Valley 17th District would have no change except a line shift within a single town. Long Island's four House districts appeared mostly or entirely untouched.

The panel also kept intact Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman's 16th District, which was notable because of his looming primary battle against Westchester County Executive George Latimer. Under the revised map, the district would still consist of the southern half of Westchester and a single Bronx neighborhood.

The map approved the the redistricting panel can be seen at www.nyirc.gov/storage/plans/20240215/congressional_plan.pdf.

To compare the new map to the one used in the 2022 elections, visit www.nyirc.gov/congressional-plan-2024.

How did we get to Thursday's redistricting vote?

The map was created and approved on Thursday by the state Independent Redistricting Commission, a 10-member panel split equally between Democratic and Republican appointees. They were ordered in December by the state Court of Appeals — New York's highest court — to draft new lines for the state's 26 House districts to replace those set by a court last year after a Republicans lawsuit over gerrymandering.

The approval of a map with no partisan drama was a marked departure from the commission's 2021 debut, when members from each party produced separate proposals and ground to a rancorous halt. The Democratic-led legislature then drew its own lines, which were struck down in court and replaced with the map used in the 2022 elections.

Dem victory: NY to draw redistricting lines again, top court rules. What that means for 2024 races

This time, the panel played it safe and reached a deal on new lines behind closed doors.

"I am proud of this collaborative, bipartisan endeavor to put forth congressional districts that reflect the criteria established by state and federal law," Ken Jenkins, the Westchester County official who serves as the commission's chairman, said before the panel's 9-1 votes in support. "And I am pleased that the courts gave us this chance to make good on the constitution's promise."

What happens next with NY's redistricting map?

The map must still be reviewed and either approved or replaced by state lawmakers, with little time to do so under the current political calendar. The legislature is on recess next week, and House candidates are due to begin collecting petition signatures the following week, on Feb. 27.

Ticking clock: NY redistricting panel plans to vote on newly drawn maps Thursday. What happens next?

If approved and signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, the House lines approved by the commission would be used for this fall's congressional races and the next three elections as well. New York and other states normally redraw their House districts once a decade after each census to adjust them for population changes.

Which NY districts saw the most change?

The current lines for Ryan's 18th District take in all of Orange County and parts of Ulster and Dutchess, an area that President Joe Biden won by 8.4 percentage points in 2020.

The 18th gets more favorable for Democrats with the commission's map, which would remove a few Republican-leaning towns in western Orange and add more Ulster areas. The result, according to an analysis by political mappers at the CUNY Graduate Center, was a 3-point shift in Democrats' favor: a district Biden would have won by 11.4 points.

Molinaro's 19th District would shift the opposite way by about 3.4 points, shrinking its Democratic tilt to a fairly even partisan split. The revamped district would take in territory Biden won by just 1.2 points.

Williams' district, which is just north of Molinaro's, would get 4 points bluer, making it tough terrain for a Republican to win. The 22nd District would now encompass an area Biden won by 11.6 points.

Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NYS Congressional redistricting: Panel approves new map. What to know