New York must redraw congressional map before midterms, judge rules | New York
New York must redraw the map of Congress, a state judge ruled Wednesday, giving Democrats another key opportunity to win another seat in the House of Representatives before this fall’s midterm elections.
The ruling by New York State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman comes after a Democratic law firm challenged the boundaries of New York’s 11th Congressional District, which includes the borough of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn. The district is currently represented by Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican, the only GOP member representing New York City in Congress.
The suit alleged that the district’s current configuration diminished the influence of Black and Latino voters. Pearlman agreed with that argument, saying the district boundaries violated a provision of the state constitution that requires districts to be drawn in such a way that “based on the totality of circumstances, racial or linguistic minority groups have no less opportunity to participate in the political process than other members of the electorate and to elect representatives of their choice.”
This provision was added to the state constitution during a 2014 election referendum.
“Based on the facts presented by the expert witness reports and the record, it is clear to the court that the current CD-11 district boundaries are a contributing factor to the lack of representation of minority voters,” he wrote in his opinion. “Without the addition of Black and Latino voters from elsewhere, voters already affected by racial discrimination will remain a diluted population indefinitely. »
Pearlman ordered the bipartisan redistricting commission responsible for drawing congressional districts to draw a new map by February 6. In New York, the state legislature gets final approval of maps drawn by the commission and can draw its own map if it rejects two proposals for the same agency.
The decision opens the door for Democrats to win another seat in a nasty redistricting battle that will play out before the 2026 midterm elections. Republicans in Texas, Missouri and North Carolina have already redrawn their maps to add up to seven Republican seats. Republicans might also be able to pick up an additional seat or two through the redrawn maps in Ohio.
Democrats countered those efforts in California with a constitutional amendment that could add up to five Democratic seats. Virginia Democrats are also moving forward with a plan that could add up to four Democratic seats.
