After long court fight, election will test Nassau Democrats' gains from new legislative districts

A new voting map aimed at creating more competitive legislature races in Nassau County will get its first test this fall with a slate of new candidates vying for open seats or challenging incumbents in reshaped districts. 

Republicans hold a 12-7 majority in Nassau's legislature with Democrats facing an uphill battle despite efforts to rebalance the districts. After a two-year court case ended earlier this year with a landmark settlement, 19 seats are up for grabs on Nov. 4, and candidates from both parties are likely to make their strongest pitch to voters after Labor Day.

Redistricting the Nassau County Legislature is similar to what occurs for members of Congress. The boundaries are redrawn every 10 years after the U.S. Census to reflect changes in the population.

Nassau County Democrats and voting rights advocates alleged in 2023 that Republicans had gerrymandered the lines to ensure they would keep their majority, similar to the controversial map finalized last week by the GOP-controlled Texas legislature that could give Republicans an edge in the 2026 congressional races.   

Nassau's new map, however, gives voters of underrepresented groups — regardless of political affiliation — more weight than they've had in the past. It supersedes the decennial redistricting map used in 2023 and creates six "majority-minority" districts where communities of color make up more than 50% of voters and one "Asian influence" district where about 30% of the electorate is of Asian descent.

The goal is to encourage more political participation while keeping communities of similar interests together. 

"There's a lot of opportunity here with the new district," said Cynthia Nunez, the Democrat running in newly created District 14, now with a higher percentage of Black, Hispanic and Southeast Asian voters. 

Nunez, a first-generation American whose parents are Dominican and Puerto Rican, said her Valley Stream community had not been adequately represented by longtime Republican Legis. C. William Gaylor III of Lynbrook, who is not seeking reelection.

"I can't speak to how he made Republicans feel," Nunez said. "But my neighbors, and myself included, who have lived here for 16 years, were jumping through hoops just to get basic things."

Her opponent, Republican Sheharyar Ali of Elmont, is of Pakistani decent. He also believes the new district is a better fit for him after having been defeated two years ago in his old district by another longtime legislator, Carrié Solages, a Democrat.

"It makes me feel really confident," Ali said about the new district. "Last week I was walking Valley Stream and I was talking to a Democratic family — I knocked on their door — and they're like 'You know we've gotten to the point now where we're not going to vote along party lines, we want to vote for the individual.' And they told me for 15 years they've been living there and they've never had a candidate come knock on their door and it meant a lot to them."   

Win for Democrats 

State and Nassau County Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs said the districts better reflect the Nassau voter population, calling the new map a "big victory," but acknowledged it will be a fight to pick up seats on the county legislature. 

"In an odd year it is tougher, but this is a fairer map and we fought hard to get it. We won a big victory and we will see how it plays out," Jacobs said. "The Republicans had gone to great lengths — without any statistical or empirical data to back it up — to gerrymander us into oblivion, and the court disagreed and not only did the Republicans have to agree to the new lines but they had to pay for all of our legal expenses." 

The Nassau case, settled by a Westchester judge in January, was the first in the state to be resolved under New York's 2022 Voting Rights Act, which aimed to protect the vote of historically marginalized and disenfranchised communities. The county legislature's Republican majority, with input from a bipartisan subcommittee that held a dozen countywide community hearings, proposed and adopted the 2023 redistricting map. 

The settlement overturned that map and scrapped two lawsuits against the Republicans: The first, filed in July 2023 by the Nassau County Democratic Committee and 20 voters, alleged that the map was a partisan gerrymander that packed Democratic-leaning voters into two districts, diluting their voting strength by dividing their communities into several other districts.

A second suit filed in February 2024 by the Brooklyn-based advocacy group New York Communities for Change, alleged racially polarized voting and said the redistricting plan "dilutes the voting strength of Black, Latino and Asian communities" with boundaries drawn "with the intent to favor Republicans."

Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo said there will "always be districts where Republicans have a very strong position and districts where Democrats have a very strong position." 

He said his goal is to pick up a 13th legislative seat for a "supermajority" that would allow Republicans complete control over such things as borrowing for capital projects and overriding a county executive's veto. 

He said he believed the 2023 map was fair and complied with all state and federal voting rights laws, but "the game is played on the field and we will play with whatever the rules are."

Cairo said he believes the issues are on the side of the Republicans: lowering property taxes and keeping residents safe.

Jacobs acknowledged that it "might take two cycles to accomplish" gains toward a majority on the county legislature.

"We have to hold what we've got and hopefully pick up one or two seats," Jacobs said, referring to fending off Republicans' serious challenge to incumbent Legis. Arnold Drucker (D-Plainview) and getting Nunez and others elected.

Unpredictable outcome

The shifting landscape of national, state and New York City politics makes for unpredictable outcomes in races with historically low turnout, watchers of Long Island politics say. With Nassau often described as "swingy" and a "bellwether" for national elections, they say, this year also may serve as a preview of the 2026 midterms. 

Christopher Malone, associate provost and professor of political science at Farmingdale State College, said a redistricting is supposed to allow for the voters to choose their representation, "not the reverse." But he said candidates still must "do this dance of pumping up the base while appealing to moderate voters" with the economy and affordability being the top issue. 

"The rational move for the elected officials, whether they are incumbents or challengers, is to be moving to the center politically," Malone said. 

For Roslyn Democrat Juleigh Chin, who if elected in the new Asian-influence district would become Nassau County's first Asian American legislator, getting elected in newly drawn districts is most about creating access to government for residents feeling overlooked or unheard. 

"That's what would be worth what constituents are paying in taxes — actually feeling like someone is helping you get your problems solved and issues addressed. That's what constituents want. Someone to go to fight for them and advocate on their behalf."   

By Candice Ferrette

candice.ferrette@newsday.comcandiceferrette

Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.