New York’s Democratic-controlled Legislature is poised to vote Monday on whether to reject a congressional map devised by a bipartisan commission that gave Democrats only a modest electoral advantage or move to seize control of the process and draw their own lines.
The decision could shape which party controls the US House next year. New York is expected to be at the center of the battle for the chamber this fall, with Republicans’ narrow majority on the line. The GOP flipped four House seats in the state in the 2022 midterms, gains that helped the party win control of the chamber.
Several New York Democrats have signaled their displeasure with the map, which was approved 9-1 by the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission earlier this month. The map largely left undisturbed House districts in the New York City suburbs, which have been viewed as potential battlegrounds in November. Those include the 3rd Congressional District on Long Island, which Democrats flipped earlier this month in a special election to succeed disgraced former Rep. George Santos.
The commission’s map potentially puts at risk freshman Republican Brandon Williams’ Central New York seat by adding more territory favorable to Democrats. But, under the compromise crafted by the commission, two Hudson Valley seats – held by Republican Marc Molinaro and Democrat Pat Ryan – each appear to have grown safer for the incumbents.
State Sen. James Skoufis, a Democrat, told CNN on Monday that he intended to vote against the commission’s map.
“They barely touched any districts around the state, and it was very clearly done to shore up those incumbents – one from each party,” he said. “I know this has been described as bipartisan, but the way I’ve characterized it is that this is mutually partisan.”
Under state law, the Legislature has the power to weigh in on the commission’s map. A two-thirds majority vote is required in each chamber to approve or reject the map.
If lawmakers choose to reject the commission’s work, they could craft new lines that could swing as many as six districts in Democrats’ favor – a step likely to trigger fresh litigation over accusations of aggressive partisan gerrymandering in violation of the state constitution.
New York’s maps have been the subject of a protracted legal battle in the years since the 2020 census.
A state court judge oversaw the process of drawing the map used in the 2022 elections. This came after the Independent Redistricting Commission failed to agree on new lines following the 2020 census and a map drawn by the Democratic-controlled Legislature was rejected by the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court.
Democrats, arguing that the court-drawn map should not be used for more than one election, went to court again asking for the redistricting commission to try again. The Court of Appeals, now under more liberal control, agreed late last year and tasked the commission with drawing a new map.
House candidates are slated Tuesday to begin collecting signatures for petitions to run for office – although state legislators could opt to alter the petition process if they don’t reach agreement on the map quickly.
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