New York‘s congressional maps are gerrymandered, but the state legislature maintains the constitutional right to draw the lines, a court found in a Thursday ruling largely favorable to Republicans.
The Democratic-controlled legislature engaged in unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering in drawing congressional districts that would have likely seen Democrats retain control of 22 of the state’s 26 seats following the results of the 2020 census, the five-judge panel found.
“We conclude that evidence of the largely one-party process used to enact the 2022 congressional map, a comparison of the 2022 congressional map to the 2012 congressional map, and the expert opinion and supporting analysis of Sean P. Trende, met petitioners’ burden of establishing that the 2022 congressional map was drawn to discourage competition and favor Democrats,” the judges wrote.
COURT TOSSES NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL MAP IN MAJOR VICTORY FOR REPUBLICANS
But the state constitution “is silent” on how lines should be drawn if an independent commission fails to reach a consensus when drawing lines for state-level congressional districts, meaning “the redistricting maps enacted by the legislature pursuant to that legislation are not void” as a result of the process but rather because of the gerrymandered results.
“We are pleased the Court upheld the legislature’s process and the right for the legislature to enact these maps,” Mike Murphy, a spokesman for the Democratic conference in the state Senate, said, foreshadowing the party’s expected legal challenge. “The newly-drawn Senate and Assembly maps are now valid. We always knew this case would end at the Court of Appeals and look forward to being heard on our appeal to uphold the Congressional map as well.”
Last month, a Steuben County judge tossed the Democrats’ maps, saying they “packed Republicans into four districts thus cracking the Republican voters in neighboring districts and virtually guaranteeing Democrats winning 22 seats.”
Democratic lawyer Marc Elias hinted on social media that the ruling would be appealed shortly after the decision was handed down.
“This decision is not going to go into effect. As soon as the state appeals, it is stayed automatically by law until that appeal is done. The judge who issued this order is an elected Republican in the reddest county in the state,” he tweeted.
New York’s congressional map had been widely regarded as one of the Democrats’ largest redistricting victories in a state where Democrats dominate the state’s congressional seat count with a 19-8 majority. The state lost a seat after the latest census.
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Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signed the map into effect Feb. 3, but Republicans quickly filed a challenge given the threat the new lines posed to incumbent Reps. Andrew Garbarino, Claudia Tenney, and Nicole Malliotakis.
Democrats are expected to appeal Thursday’s ruling to the state’s seven-judge Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court.
