New York’s congressional lines could shift again under a court ruling on Thursday that gave Democrats a potential boost in their quest to regain House control next year.
An appeals court in Albany sided with Democrats by ordering a state commission to make a second attempt at redrawing New York’s 26 congressional districts. That future map — or any revision later made by the state Legislature’s Democratic majorities — would replace the lines imposed by a judge for the 2022 election after a fight over partisan gerrymandering.
Democrats, stung by New York losses in November that helped cost their party its House majority, cheered the decision, which reversed a ruling that would have kept the current map in place until after the 2030 census.
“We are eager for the Independent Redistricting Commission to resume their constitutional duty of creating new congressional maps so that New Yorkers can have the fair representation they deserve,” Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, chairwoman of the House Democrats’ campaign arm, said in a statement.
Republicans vowed to take the case to the Court of Appeals, the state’ highest court.
“After failing to win at the ballot box last November, New York Democrats are attempting a blatant partisan power grab thinly disguised as a court case,” said Jack Pandol, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
What is the potential impact of the redistricting ruling?
The ruling puts New York’s congressional lines back in the hands of a 10-member appointed commission. That group, evenly split along party lines, failed to agree on a map in 2022, leading state lawmakers to draw one that heavily favored Democratic candidates and was struck down and replaced by a judge after a Republican challenge.
Redoing those lines as a result of Thursday’s ruling improves Democrats’ chances of winning back House seats, Jeffrey Wice, a redistricting expert and law professor at New York Law School, said in an interview after the decision.
“The…
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