(The Center Square) — A New York judge has ruled that one of the state’s congressional districts unlawfully diluted minority voices, ordering the state’s redistricting panel to redraw the lines ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
The ruling issued Wednesday by state Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman sided with Democratic lawyers who argued that the boundaries of the 11th Congressional District — New York City’s only Republican district, currently held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis — unlawfully diluted the voices of Black and Latino voters in Staten Island.
He ordered New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw the district boundaries by a Feb. 6 deadline. He also blocked elections from being held until the new lines are finalized.
Gov. Kathy Hochul praised the ruling, saying it “underscores” the state’s constitutional “principles of fair representation, and New Yorkers in every community deserve these protections.” She urged the commission to get to work on drawing new district boundaries “so impacted communities are fully represented and have a voice in our democracy.”
The ruling 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.
Rep. Dan Goldman, currently running for reelection in New York’s 10th Congressional District, has expressed interest in running for the Staten Island House seat if the political boundaries are redrawn.
Malliotakis said in a statement Wednesday that her office is reviewing the judge’s ruling and weighing her options to “protect the voices of people of Staten Island and Brooklyn.”
“Nothing changes the fact that this is a frivolous attempt by Washington Democrats to steal this congressional seat from the people and we are very confident that we will prevail at the end of the day,” Malliotakis said.
New York’s bipartisan redistricting commission approved a plan last year after the state’s highest court ordered new congressional maps to be drawn 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 redraw maps, which were signed into law by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul.
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’s congressional districts are currently split 19 to 7 in favor of Democrats, who currently control the state Legislature and the governor’s office.
“This entire exercise is a cynical attempt to enact an illegal partisan gerrymander under the guise of a voting rights case,” NYGOP Chairman Ed Cox said in a statement.
Rep. Mike Lawler, a Hudson Valley Republican, called the push by Democrats to redraw the political lines of the district “an absolute disgrace” and said it should be challenged in federal court.
“The effort by Hakeem Jeffries and Kathy Hochul to once again gerrymander New York’s maps is an affront to the voters who very clearly wanted independent redistricting and opposed partisan gerrymandering,” he said in a statement. “This should be taken to federal court immediately and appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.”
