(The Center Square) — New York Democrats are gearing up to change the state’s redistricting process in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that weakened a landmark Civil Rights-era law.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he has directed Rep. Joe Morelle, a former Majority Leader in the New York State Assembly, to meet with Albany leaders to begin the process of redrawing New York’s congressional districts “for the balance of the decade in response to the Callais decision and the recent action in Florida.”
“This is just the beginning. Across the nation, we will sue, we will redraw and we will win,” Jeffries said in a statement. “House Democrats will not allow a MAGA majority to be built on rigged maps and the dilution of Black voting strength. Ultimately, this will end poorly for Republican extremists. It’s the American people who get to decide who wins the majority in Congress, not Donald Trump.”
The effort is part of a broader strategy to force New York and other blue states to consider new partisan gerrymanders after the Supreme Court restricted the use of race in drawing electoral districts last week, potentially putting more than a dozen Democrat-held House seats at risk. Jeffries said Democrats are also targeting Colorado, Illinois and Maryland for redistricting.
The blue state initiative comes as Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new congressional map into law that could boost the GOP’s prospects of holding onto the chamber in the midterm elections.
Morelle said the high court’s ruling is “the latest civil rights and democratic disaster” and said he will be working with Jeffries and other New York Democrats on the New York Democracy Project to explore every option to protect voters in 2026, 2028, and beyond.
“We will not allow these efforts to silence communities or undermine fair representation,” Morelle said. “We will fight, we will win, and we will protect the voters’ voice.”
New York’s bipartisan redistricting commission approved a plan last year after the state’s highest court ordered new congressional maps for the 2024 election. The ruling was viewed as a major win for Democrats seeking to redraw the state’s maps after a chaotic redistricting process during the November 2022 midterm elections.
Republicans sought unsuccessfully to block the redrawn maps, which were signed into law by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Last year, Hochul declared that it’s “game on” with plans to redraw the blue state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats as the Texas’ Legislature was moving ahead with a GOP-led redistricting plan.
The declaration prompted a backlash from Republicans and good government groups like the nonpartisan watchdog Reinvent Albany, which called the plan a “race to the bottom” that will disenfranchise the state’s voters.
Unlike the proposed changes in Florida or Nebraska, however, any redistricting changes to New York’s congressional districts wouldn’t take effect until the 2028 elections.
Rep. Mike Lawler, a Hudson Valley Republican, has filed a bill in Congress to outlaw mid-decade congressional redistricting and partisan gerrymandering by state Legislatures. He blasted Jeffries and other Democrats for plodding ahead with the plans to change the state’s political maps.
“To be clear, this will be New York’s fourth attempt at partisan gerrymandering in complete violation of the state constitution,” Lawler said in a statement. “They have tried repeatedly to amend the constitution and weaken the Independent Redistricting Commission. This isn’t in response to Texas, this is New York Dems continuing their efforts to stifle Republican voices in the state.”
