NYS Legislature rejects congressional redistricting map, will offer new one
The New York State Capitol in Albany on Sunday. Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
ALBANY — The State Legislature on Monday voted down a proposed map for New York’s 26 congressional districts that was drawn by a bipartisan panel.
The action clears the way for Democrats, who overwhelmingly control both houses in Albany, to enact a different map that could give the party better odds at gaining seats in elections this fall. Officials hadn’t finalized lines for such a new map, but were confident it would be completed and approved this week.
Newsday previously reported a new map under consideration could “tweak” boundaries of districts held by Rep.-elect Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and Reps. Brandon Williams (R-Syracuse) and Marc Molinaro (R-Poughkeepsie) to make them slightly more Democratic than the IRC proposed.
Internally, Democrats were weighing how aggressive to be with their rewrite, multiple sources said, with the Assembly wanting to be more cautious than the Senate. The Democratic conference in each house scheduled closed-door meetings with members to begin after 8 p.m. and work through the evening.
The new map will be watched around the political world because the flipping of a few seats could impact which party wins Congress this fall. Republicans have floated the threat of a lawsuit to block a Democratic-drawn map.
In Albany, the vote to kill the map drawn by the bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission was, to little surprise, done quickly and largely along party lines.
The Senate rejected the IRC map, 40-17; the Assembly, 99-47.
Further, the Senate planned to approve a bill that would limit geographically where a future Republican lawsuit against the map could be filed. The Assembly didn’t immediately follow suit.
And lawmakers said they are “very likely” to also reduce petition requirements to qualify for congressional primaries since the petition period was scheduled to begin Tuesday.
The IRC map would have made very slight changes to the congressional map that is currently in effect — a map Republicans uniformly supported.
Democrats called the map flawed, contending it unfairly split counties into different districts in at least six instances and didn’t consider “communities of interest,” which would hurt minority voting power.
“There are many defects” with the commission map, Deputy Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) told reporters shortly before the vote.
Republicans said the only defect was the IRC map wasn’t as favorable as Democrats wanted. The commission featured five Democrats and five Republicans, along with staffs, to help draw a fair map, GOP lawmakers said.
“These maps are drawn meticulously. These maps are drawn with, I think, all of the best intentions,” said State Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola). The Republican was initially a member of the IRC in 2021 before resigning to run for Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, a Niagara County Republican, called the vote a “shameful power grab.”
Monday’s vote marked the latest milestone in the long-running fight over congressional districts in New York — a bare-knuckle battle like in other states.
In 2022, the state’s highest court agreed with a Republican lawsuit that said a map drawn by the State Legislature constituted an illegal gerrymander to help Democrats gain as many as six seats. The Court of Appeals ordered a “special master” to draw new map — which helped Republicans gain seats here and win narrow control of Congress.
Democrats currently hold 16 seats in New York; Republicans, 10.
A subsequent Democratic lawsuit resulted in the Court of Appeals ruling that the special-master’s map was a short-term fix because of the looming election and ordered the IRC to produce a new map for the Legislature to consider.
Unveiled Feb. 15, the IRC map gave Democrats a small boost in Syracuse, traded off Democrat and Republican territory in the Hudson Valley and Catskills, and otherwise made few changes.
None of Long Island’s four districts — held by three Republicans and one Democrat — would have changed under the IRC map.
But Democrats quickly denounced the commission, foreshadowing the State Legislature's move to kill the maps.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), the House minority leader, had raised questions about splitting counties and minority representation.
Now, not only will the Legislature have to approve a new map, it must do so quickly. Congressional primaries in New York are slated for June, but the qualifying period is slated to open Tuesday.
In the past, lawmakers have adjusted qualification requirements, such as reducing the number of signatures a candidate needs or easing residency requirements for signers.
ALBANY — The State Legislature on Monday voted down a proposed map for New York’s 26 congressional districts that was drawn by a bipartisan panel.
The action clears the way for Democrats, who overwhelmingly control both houses in Albany, to enact a different map that could give the party better odds at gaining seats in elections this fall. Officials hadn’t finalized lines for such a new map, but were confident it would be completed and approved this week.
Newsday previously reported a new map under consideration could “tweak” boundaries of districts held by Rep.-elect Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and Reps. Brandon Williams (R-Syracuse) and Marc Molinaro (R-Poughkeepsie) to make them slightly more Democratic than the IRC proposed.
Internally, Democrats were weighing how aggressive to be with their rewrite, multiple sources said, with the Assembly wanting to be more cautious than the Senate. The Democratic conference in each house scheduled closed-door meetings with members to begin after 8 p.m. and work through the evening.
The new map will be watched around the political world because the flipping of a few seats could impact which party wins Congress this fall. Republicans have floated the threat of a lawsuit to block a Democratic-drawn map.
In Albany, the vote to kill the map drawn by the bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission was, to little surprise, done quickly and largely along party lines.
The Senate rejected the IRC map, 40-17; the Assembly, 99-47.
Further, the Senate planned to approve a bill that would limit geographically where a future Republican lawsuit against the map could be filed. The Assembly didn’t immediately follow suit.
And lawmakers said they are “very likely” to also reduce petition requirements to qualify for congressional primaries since the petition period was scheduled to begin Tuesday.
The IRC map would have made very slight changes to the congressional map that is currently in effect — a map Republicans uniformly supported.
Democrats called the map flawed, contending it unfairly split counties into different districts in at least six instances and didn’t consider “communities of interest,” which would hurt minority voting power.
“There are many defects” with the commission map, Deputy Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) told reporters shortly before the vote.
Republicans said the only defect was the IRC map wasn’t as favorable as Democrats wanted. The commission featured five Democrats and five Republicans, along with staffs, to help draw a fair map, GOP lawmakers said.
“These maps are drawn meticulously. These maps are drawn with, I think, all of the best intentions,” said State Sen. Jack Martins (R-Mineola). The Republican was initially a member of the IRC in 2021 before resigning to run for Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, a Niagara County Republican, called the vote a “shameful power grab.”
Monday’s vote marked the latest milestone in the long-running fight over congressional districts in New York — a bare-knuckle battle like in other states.
In 2022, the state’s highest court agreed with a Republican lawsuit that said a map drawn by the State Legislature constituted an illegal gerrymander to help Democrats gain as many as six seats. The Court of Appeals ordered a “special master” to draw new map — which helped Republicans gain seats here and win narrow control of Congress.
Democrats currently hold 16 seats in New York; Republicans, 10.
A subsequent Democratic lawsuit resulted in the Court of Appeals ruling that the special-master’s map was a short-term fix because of the looming election and ordered the IRC to produce a new map for the Legislature to consider.
Unveiled Feb. 15, the IRC map gave Democrats a small boost in Syracuse, traded off Democrat and Republican territory in the Hudson Valley and Catskills, and otherwise made few changes.
None of Long Island’s four districts — held by three Republicans and one Democrat — would have changed under the IRC map.
But Democrats quickly denounced the commission, foreshadowing the State Legislature's move to kill the maps.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), the House minority leader, had raised questions about splitting counties and minority representation.
Now, not only will the Legislature have to approve a new map, it must do so quickly. Congressional primaries in New York are slated for June, but the qualifying period is slated to open Tuesday.
In the past, lawmakers have adjusted qualification requirements, such as reducing the number of signatures a candidate needs or easing residency requirements for signers.
