Judge OKs newly redrawn Nassau County legislative map, impacting this year's elections
A landmark redistricting case alleging Republican gerrymandering in Nassau County was settled Thursday with a Westchester judge signing off on a new map that redraws the lines of 19 legislative districts, according to court filings.
The new map, to be used in this year's county elections, creates six "majority-minority" districts where communities of color make up more than 50% of voters and one "Asian influence" district combining areas where the Asian American population is growing, settlement documents show.
In place until 2032, the map supersedes the one used in the 2023 county races. The 2023 map had four majority-minority districts and no Asian influence district. Candidates in the upcoming November elections would run to represent districts based on new boundaries but residents will keep their current representation until new legislators take office next year, attorneys said.
The case is the first in the state to be resolved after testing New York's 2022 Voting Rights Act, which aimed to protect the vote of historically marginalized and disenfranchised communities, experts said.
Dave Mejias, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, said for nearly two years the county had been using an illegal legislative map.
"The Republicans tried to rig legislative elections with a politically gerrymandered map," Mejias said in a statement. "This outcome ensures that elections are fair for the next decade."
The settlement scraps two lawsuits aimed at overturning Nassau's legislative map adopted in February 2023.
That map was a result of a redistricting process that occurs every 10 years to reflect population and demographic changes shown in the U.S. Census and approved in a party-line vote by Republicans who currently hold a 12-7 legislative majority.
Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo issued a statement Thursday morning saying his organization is "committed to fair and competitive" districts. He said he believes the party will "maintain its majority" on the county legislature because they "stand with voters," noting their candidates' stance on immigration and cashless bail.
"Republican successes at the polls illustrate the fact that our agenda is reflective of the priorities of the people who call Nassau home. At the same time, extremists have taken control of the Democrat Party, and no alterations to legislative maps will change the fact that the Democrat Party is out of touch with voters," Cairo said.
In July 2023, the Nassau County Democratic Committee and 20 voters sued the county administration and Republican-controlled legislature alleging the map was a partisan gerrymander and violated the state's Voting Rights Act and Municipal Home Rule Law by packing Democratic-leaning voters into two districts and watering down their voting strength by dividing their communities into several other districts.
The second lawsuit, filed last February by the Brooklyn-based advocacy group New York Communities for Change, alleged racially polarized voting occurred in Nassau and the redistricting plan "dilutes the voting strength of Black, Latino and Asian communities" with boundaries drawn "with the intent to favor Republicans."
State and county Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs in a statement called the settlement "a tremendous victory for Nassau County."
"Republican lawmakers drew a map to provide them political advantages while disenfranchising communities of color throughout the county. This outcome sends a clear message: attempts to undermine our democratic principles will not be tolerated. We remain committed to building a Nassau County where fair representation is at the forefront of our government," Jacobs said.
Westchester County Judge Paul I. Marx heard the cases together over nine days, attorneys said.
Republicans do not have the ability to appeal to a higher court, according to the settlement.
Perry Grossman, lead attorney in the second lawsuit and director of the Voting Rights Project at the New York Civil Liberties Union, called the settlement "historic."
"This is the first redistricting case resolved under the New York State Voting Rights Act," Grossman told Newsday in a telephone interview Thursday. "Partisan gerrymandering litigation is fairly new in New York and is still emerging as a field nationally, and so there's a lot of new methods to prove and ways of approaching how to undo the kind of gerrymandering we've seen in Nassau County for decades. ... This case really brought a lot to light."
A landmark redistricting case alleging Republican gerrymandering in Nassau County was settled Thursday with a Westchester judge signing off on a new map that redraws the lines of 19 legislative districts, according to court filings.
The new map, to be used in this year's county elections, creates six "majority-minority" districts where communities of color make up more than 50% of voters and one "Asian influence" district combining areas where the Asian American population is growing, settlement documents show.
In place until 2032, the map supersedes the one used in the 2023 county races. The 2023 map had four majority-minority districts and no Asian influence district. Candidates in the upcoming November elections would run to represent districts based on new boundaries but residents will keep their current representation until new legislators take office next year, attorneys said.
The case is the first in the state to be resolved after testing New York's 2022 Voting Rights Act, which aimed to protect the vote of historically marginalized and disenfranchised communities, experts said.
Dave Mejias, one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, said for nearly two years the county had been using an illegal legislative map.
"The Republicans tried to rig legislative elections with a politically gerrymandered map," Mejias said in a statement. "This outcome ensures that elections are fair for the next decade."
The settlement scraps two lawsuits aimed at overturning Nassau's legislative map adopted in February 2023.
That map was a result of a redistricting process that occurs every 10 years to reflect population and demographic changes shown in the U.S. Census and approved in a party-line vote by Republicans who currently hold a 12-7 legislative majority.
Nassau County Republican Committee Chairman Joseph Cairo issued a statement Thursday morning saying his organization is "committed to fair and competitive" districts. He said he believes the party will "maintain its majority" on the county legislature because they "stand with voters," noting their candidates' stance on immigration and cashless bail.
"Republican successes at the polls illustrate the fact that our agenda is reflective of the priorities of the people who call Nassau home. At the same time, extremists have taken control of the Democrat Party, and no alterations to legislative maps will change the fact that the Democrat Party is out of touch with voters," Cairo said.
In July 2023, the Nassau County Democratic Committee and 20 voters sued the county administration and Republican-controlled legislature alleging the map was a partisan gerrymander and violated the state's Voting Rights Act and Municipal Home Rule Law by packing Democratic-leaning voters into two districts and watering down their voting strength by dividing their communities into several other districts.
The second lawsuit, filed last February by the Brooklyn-based advocacy group New York Communities for Change, alleged racially polarized voting occurred in Nassau and the redistricting plan "dilutes the voting strength of Black, Latino and Asian communities" with boundaries drawn "with the intent to favor Republicans."
State and county Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs in a statement called the settlement "a tremendous victory for Nassau County."
"Republican lawmakers drew a map to provide them political advantages while disenfranchising communities of color throughout the county. This outcome sends a clear message: attempts to undermine our democratic principles will not be tolerated. We remain committed to building a Nassau County where fair representation is at the forefront of our government," Jacobs said.
Westchester County Judge Paul I. Marx heard the cases together over nine days, attorneys said.
Republicans do not have the ability to appeal to a higher court, according to the settlement.
Perry Grossman, lead attorney in the second lawsuit and director of the Voting Rights Project at the New York Civil Liberties Union, called the settlement "historic."
"This is the first redistricting case resolved under the New York State Voting Rights Act," Grossman told Newsday in a telephone interview Thursday. "Partisan gerrymandering litigation is fairly new in New York and is still emerging as a field nationally, and so there's a lot of new methods to prove and ways of approaching how to undo the kind of gerrymandering we've seen in Nassau County for decades. ... This case really brought a lot to light."
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- A landmark redistricting case in Nassau County was settled, resulting in a new map that creates six majority-minority districts and one Asian influence district, replacing the previous map used in 2023, court records show.
- The settlement resolves two lawsuits alleging Republican gerrymandering and violations of the New York Voting Rights Act, intended to ensure fair elections.
- Republicans do not have the ability to appeal to a higher court, according to the settlement.
Candice Ferrette covers Nassau County government and politics on Long Island. She has been a reporter at Newsday since 2011.
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