by A New York court on Thursday ordered the state to redraw its constituencies, opening the door for Democrats to increase their chances in the House majority race next year.
The appeals court ruled that the state redistricting commission failed to meet its constitutional obligations during the most recent redistricting cycle and must draw a new set of maps.
Republicans have vowed to appeal, but if the order stands, it would give Democrats an advantage on the new maps, since the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission has little power. During the last election cycle, the court notes, the commission did not submit a second set of maps to the legislature, which must approve any map the commission draws.
Then New York state legislators took it upon themselves to draw maps that could have helped them win three more seats, but Republicans sued, and state courts agreed that the maps drawn by Democrats were illegal tampering. The New York supreme court ordered the state to instead use maps drawn by an outside expert, whose competitive maps crushed top Democrats, set up thorny primaries, and then helped Republicans win four seats.
Democrats currently hold a 15-11 lead in the New York delegation. But given that Republicans have only a 5-seat majority in the House, a big change in the map lines in New York (or any other state) before the 2024 election could have a huge impact on who will control the house in the future. 2025 and beyond.
“After failing to win at the polls last November, New York Democrats are blatantly attempting to seize partisan power thinly disguised as a court case. Republicans will appeal to protect the will of New York voters, and we will fight to hold the ground on the Empire State,» said Republican National Congressional Committee communications director Jack Pandol.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which had motivated an aggressively tampered map during the 2022 redistricting process, criticized the initial lawsuit by Republicans against the tampered maps as a «Republican takeover.» In a statement, DCCC President Suzan DelBene said in part that they were «eager for the Independent Redistricting Commission to resume its constitutional duty.»
New York is one of thirteen states still embroiled in redistricting litigation, according to a redistricting report. tracker Hosted by Loyola Law School. North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature is among those he hopes to redraw his maps this year, drawing new Republican-leaning districts.
The Supreme Court’s recent unexpected affirmation of part of the Voting Rights Act in an Alabama redistricting case could also send new Democrats to Congress in as many as four states, advocates said, as the precedent applies in cases similar across the country. .
Alabama lawmakers are scheduled to meet next week for a special session, in which they will be tasked with redrawing the state’s congressional map to give black voters the chance to choose two members of Congress instead of one.
