State appeals court rules New York needs new House district lines
Jul. 13—ALBANY — New York's House map may change for a third time in less than three years, after a state appeals court on Thursday ordered the congressional map to be redrawn.
The districts were first drawn in 2021 by the state legislature, after the Independent Redistricting Commission failed to submit a set of nonpartisan maps. A legal battle ended at the state Supreme Court, which threw out the legislature's Democrat-friendly map for one drawn by a court-appointed special master.
House Representatives in New York were elected in 2022 with the special master's district map. Some Democrats have blamed the map for the success of suburban Republicans in New York in that election, flipping four seats and giving the GOP an edge to hold a majority in Congress.
But now, a legal challenge to that map led by Democrats, including state Attorney General Letitia A. James, has convinced at least one level of the legal system to throw out that special master map, arguing it was only a temporary solution and a new iteration of the process with the Independent Redistricting Commission and a legislature vote should begin.
In a 3-2 decision, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court in Albany ruled that the special master map is not valid for 2024, and should be redrawn before voters go to the polls as quickly as possible.
"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," wrote Elisabeth A. Gary, presiding justice, in the majority opinion. "Accordingly, we direct the IRC to commence its duties forthwith."
Aria Branch, a partner at Elias Law Group, a Democratic firm that represented the appellants in this case, said the decision is a positive step forward, and criticized the maps created by the special master that are currently in place as disregarding marginalized and minority communities.
"New Yorkers deserve the fair lines and fair process they voted for, and today's decision is a big step in the right direction," she said. "We are thrilled that the court recognized the Independent Redistricting Commission's constitutional duty to redraw New York's congressional map."
Republicans decried the decision within hours of its public release. In a joint statement issued by state Republican Committee Chair Edward F. Cox and north country congresswoman and House Republican Conference Chair Elise M. Stefanik, R-Willsboro, they vowed to appeal and accused Democrats of attempting to cheat their way back to a House majority.
"The Appellate Division majority's conclusion guts the New York Constitution's explicit prohibition against mid-decade redistricting," the two chair people said. "When Democrat's can't compete, they cheat. Their illegal gerrymandering violated the state Constitution and bucked the will of the voters. The Court of Appeals must overturn this ruling, or Democrats will gerrymander the map to target political opponents and protect political allies, all to the people's detriment."
A redrawn map could make reelection more difficult for the newly elected downstate Republicans who helped to flip the House of Representatives, like Reps. Michael V. Lawler, R-Pearl River, and Marcus J. Molinaro, R-Red Hook.
An appeal will take the issue up to the state Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state. Last year, the court ruled against Democrats in another redistricting attempt, but it's makeup has changed since then with more liberal justices and a new chief justice, Rowan D. Wilson, who did not join the majority ruling against the previous redistricting attempt.
New Yorkers already have a new set of Assembly maps as of this year, although the changes made to those maps were minimal.
