The New York Legislature approved a congressional map Wednesday that has Republicans in an uproar.
The new map, which now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul for her signature, could help Democrats increase their 19-8 domination of congressional seats in the state to 22–4, according to Dave Wasserman, a national elections analyst with the Cook Political Report.
DEMOCRATS SUDDENLY QUIET ABOUT NEW YORK’S GERRYMANDERING
“These maps are the most brazen and outrageous attempt at rigging the election to keep Nancy Pelosi as Speaker,” Nick Langworthy, chairman of the New York Republican Party, said in a statement. “For all of their phony protestations about transparency and fairness in elections, what they’re doing is textbook filthy, partisan gerrymandering that is clearly in violation of the New York State Constitution.”
Langworthy noted the state’s Republican Party is exploring possible legal options against the map. The map passed the state Assembly 103–45 and the Senate 43–20 later in the day. Both are controlled by Democrats. Hochul, also a Democrat, has not publicly stated that she will approve the map, according to the New York Daily News.
The state’s congressional seat count shrank from its current 27-seat count down to 26 for the next decade, starting with the 2022 midterm elections due to the recent census. The map was initially set to be drawn by an independent commission. The commission failed to reach a consensus in early January and sent dueling proposals to the Legislature.
The map erased a seat held by Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney, who recently announced plans to run in a neighboring district. The map also merged two districts held by Republican Reps. Lee Zeldin and Andrew Garbarino into one district. Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’s district would also become a more Democratic-leaning district.
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The Legislature’s move is one of several setbacks that Republicans have faced in recent weeks during the redistricting process, which typically takes place every 10 years with the recording of new census data.
On Wednesday, Pennsylvania’s Democratic-leaning Supreme Court opted to take over the redistricting process in the state. In mid-January, Ohio’s Supreme Court knocked down a Republican congressional map, accusing it of being too favorable to Republicans. In December, Maryland’s Legislature approved a map that makes the state’s sole Republican seat more competitive for Democrats.
