(The Center Square) — A state appeals court Thursday sided with New York Democrats in a redistricting fight over New York City’s only GOP congressional district, rejecting another bid by Republicans to block the effort ahead of the midterms.
The five-member First Department of the Appellate Division declined to overturn a lower court ruling tossing out the lawsuit, and ordered New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw the boundaries of the 11th Congressional District, which is currently held by Staten Island Rep. Nicole Malliotakis.
In January, state Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman ruled that the boundaries of the congressional district “unlawfully” diluted the voices of Black and Latino voters in Staten Island. He ordered the political maps to be redrawn ahead of the November election.
While Thursday’s appeals court ruling marks the end of the legal fight in New York state courts, Republicans have petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case. Malliotakis filed an emergency appeal last week with Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a last-ditch effort to block the redistricting plan. Both sides were expected to file legal briefs by a Thursday deadline.
Congressman Mike Lawler, a Hudson Valley Republican, criticized the ruling and accused justices of bias, saying the “New York State Court System has become so corrupt, it’s unrecognizable.”
“Democrats have destroyed a once prestigious court,” Lawler posted on X. The US Supreme Court must weigh in and issue a stay. The underlying case and ruling are absurd on its face and must be overturned.
New York Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox said the court’s Thursday ruling was “no surprise given how Governor Hochul and Albany Democrats have thoroughly politicized New York’s courts.”
“The decision issued by Acting Supreme Court Justice Pearlman is a legal abomination,” he said in a statement. “Even the ACLU and the Harvard professors who submitted Amicus briefs in the case upon which the judge based his decision have stated that his opinion is flawed and mistaken. The matter now lies with the U.S. Supreme Court.”
The legal fight stems from a lawsuit filed in October by a group of Staten Island and Brooklyn voters who want the district redrawn to connect Staten Island to parts of lower Manhattan, which could reshape the state’s congressional landscape and peel the seat away from Republicans.
Malliotakis and several members of the New York State Board of Elections have also filed appeals to Pearlman’s ruling in the New York State Court of Appeals and the appellate division of the New York State Supreme Court, asking both courts to block the lower court’s decision to avoid “chaos” in the upcoming midterm elections. Neither has ruled on the case.
The state’s redistricting commission approved new boundaries for New York’s congressional districts last year after the state’s highest court ordered the maps to be redrawn.
New York’s congressional districts are currently split 19 to 7 in favor of Democrats, who currently control the state Legislature and the governor’s office. The state is viewed as a battleground in the upcoming midterms, when control of Congress will be up for grabs.
