In a significant ruling, a state appeals court has ordered the creation of new congressional lines for New York, a decision that may provide an advantage to Democrats in the upcoming 2024 battle for control of the U.S. House.
The Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court has overturned a lower court’s decision and instructed a state redistricting commission to commence the development of new proposed state congressional lines. The Democratic party is backing the lawsuit, aiming to invalidate the 2022 lines in New York that led to Republicans gaining four congressional seats.
Republicans have swiftly declared their intention to bring the politically charged case to New York’s highest court.
The lawsuit was filed by ten New York voters who are urging the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission to present new proposed state congressional lines for the year 2024. The commission’s initial set of lines was rejected, and a lawsuit resulted in the appointment of a court expert to draw the 2022 lines.
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The Independent Redistricting Commission consists of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans but failed to reach a consensus on the maps for 2022. The Democrat-controlled Legislature intervened and produced its own maps.
Those maps would have given Democrats a substantial majority of registered voters in 22 out of the state’s 26 congressional districts, leading to allegations of gerrymandering from Republicans.
Following a legal challenge, New York’s highest court ruled that the Legislature lacked the authority to redraw the lines. The Court of Appeals granted the authority to draw new district maps to an expert, resulting in the creation of more competitive congressional districts.
Under these maps, Republicans managed to secure additional seats in New York, including one held by Democratic Representative Sean Patrick Maloney, who led the House Democrats’ campaign efforts.
In April, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James jointly filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the ongoing legal action.
With an impending appeal to the Court of Appeals, Jeffrey Wice, a professor at New York Law School, noted that it is generally easier for the higher court to affirm a lower court’s decision than to explain why they are overturning it.
