A mid-level New York appellate court has ordered an independent commission to redraw the state’s congressional district lines in a Thursday ruling, according to Politico.
The ruling is a victory for state Democrats, who brought forth the lawsuit calling for the redistricting, and who hold the majority in the legislature that could approve the new lines next February. A new district map would have major implications for the 2024 congressional elections.
State Republicans have promised to appeal the ruling to the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, Former Rep. John Faso said.
The state judiciary tossed out a district map drawn by Democrats in 2022, arguing that lawmakers had not followed the proper steps in drafting the map. That map would have given the party significant advantages in 22 of the state’s 26 congressional districts.
The court convened the Independent Redistricting Commission to draw new lines, but the IRC failed to submit a final proposal after struggling to find common ground on a preliminary draft. A Steuben County judge took over the task, drawing a map that gave Democrats 15 of 26 contested house seats.
A lawsuit brought by allies of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James, argued that using the 2022 map beyond that election would be unconstitutional. The appellate court ruled 3-2 in the group's favor.
“The right to participate in the democratic process is the most essential right in our system of governance,” the judges wrote in the decision. “The procedures governing the redistricting process, all too easily abused by those who would seek to minimize the voters’ voice and entrench themselves in the seats of power, must be guarded as jealously as the right to vote itself; in granting this petition, we return the matter to its constitutional design.”
Ultimately, the final decision rests with the Court of Appeals.
