(The Center Square) — New York City’s only Republican-held congressional district will remain intact following a Monday ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which tossed out a state court decision ordering the district’s lines to be redrawn ahead of the midterm elections.
In a 6-3 ruling, the high court’s conservative majority overturned a state court decision that had ordered New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw boundaries of the 11th Congressional District, which is currently held by Staten Island GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis.
The split decision stems from a ruling by state Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman in January that sided with Democrats who claimed 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.
Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the court’s majority, didn’t explain the rationale for the decision but said Pearlman’s ruling ordering the district to be redrawn “for the express purpose of ensuring that ‘minority voters’ are able to elect the candidate of their choice” is unconstitutional because it “blatantly discriminates on the basis of race.”
“That is unadorned racial discrimination, an inherently odious activity that violates the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause” he wrote in the ruling. “It is therefore an understatement to say that applicants are likely to succeed on the merits of their equal protection claim.”
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor criticized the majority for ruling on a case that was still being appealed in the New York state court system.
“By granting these applications, the Court thrusts itself into the middle of every election-law dispute around the country, even as many States redraw their congressional maps ahead of the 2026 election,” she wrote.
Malliotakis, who filed the last-ditch appeal to the Supreme Court last month, said the ruling “helps restore the public’s confidence in our judicial system and proves the challenge to our district lines was always meritless.”
She said the court’s conservative majority “stopped the voters on Staten Island and in Southern Brooklyn from being stripped of their ability to elect a representative who reflects their values.”
“The plaintiffs in this case attempted to manipulate our state’s courts to use race as a weapon to rig our elections. That was wrong and, as demonstrated by today’s ruling, clearly unconstitutional,” Malliotakis said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the politicization of New York’s courts and its judges necessitated action from the nation’s highest 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.
New York’s redistricting commission approved new boundaries for the state’s congressional districts after the state’s highest court ordered the maps to be drawn ahead of the 2024 election.
Republicans sought unsuccessfully to block the redrawn maps, which were signed into law by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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 midterm elections, when control of Congress is up for grabs.
Earlier this year, Hochul vowed to redraw the blue state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats after the Texas’ Legislature moves ahead with a GOP-led redistricting plan ahead of next year’s midterm election.
New York State Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox praised the Supreme Court’s order and admonished Gov. Kathy Hochul and other Democratic leaders for pushing to redraw the district’s boundaries ahead of the midterms.
“New Yorkers should know that Kathy Hochul always puts her political interests first and the interests of the citizens of our state last,” Cox said in a statement. “This case was just another manifestation of her disgraceful and incompetent governance.”
