(The Center Square) — A coalition of good government groups is urging a New York panel to prioritize transparency and public input as it draws new congressional maps for the state ahead of next year’s presidential election.
In a letter to the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission, the groups call on commissioners to hold public meetings and solicit voters’ input before finalizing the new political boundaries that were ordered redrawn by a recent ruling by the state Court of Appeals.
“New Yorkers deserve the opportunity to weigh in on district lines before they are finalized despite the challenges presented by the procedurally set timeline for the creation and submission of the new map,” they wrote. “The adherence to a strict timeline should not be achieved at the expense of the interests of everyday New Yorkers.”
The coalition, which includes the groups Common Cause NY and Reinvent Albany, urged the panel to “make it clear that its duty is to the public, not elected officials or political parties” during its deliberations on drawing new political maps.
“The lack of public trust in New York’s redistricting process is pronounced and voters are weary of ever changing district lines and the attendant uncertainty it brings right before a consequential election cycle,” they wrote.
Last month, the New York Court of Appeals narrowly ruled that the bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission must restart the redistricting process to set new political boundaries by a Feb. 28 deadline.
In the 3-2 ruling, a majority of the justices agreed that the commission failed to meet its constitutional duty to redraw the political boundaries but argued that the panel should still be allowed to reconvene to fulfill its duty.
The ruling was viewed as a major win for New York Democrats seeking to redraw the state’s maps after a chaotic redistricting process during the November 2022 midterm elections. While the bipartisan commission will develop the new political maps, the Democratic-controlled Legislature still needs to approve them.
Republicans sought to keep the congressional maps intact, arguing that they are politically balanced and that the state shouldn’t be conducting another redistricting ahead of the next decennial census.
In the 2022 midterms, the GOP flipped three seats in New York and won an open race crucial to the party regaining a narrow House majority.
In its letter, the coalition said public hearings and written testimony are required to ensure that any new map reflects the diversity of New York’s population and upholds the principles of the Voting Rights Act.
“We firmly believe that an open redistricting process is critical for ensuring that the voices of all New Yorkers are heard,” they wrote. “We urge the Commission to make every attempt at collaboration, meaningful public input, openness and transparency before submitting any new congressional map plan to the Legislature.”
