ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s highest court struck down Democratic-drawn congressional and state senate districts Wednesday, a decision that will likely see the state’s primary pushed back until August.
In a 4-3 ruling, the Court of Appeals determined that the maps were “drawn with impermissible partisan purpose.”
The court determined that the use of a special master to draw new congressional districts “is required to facilitate the expeditious creation of constitutionally conforming maps for use in the 2022 election and to safeguard the constitutionally protected right of New Yorkers to a fair election.”
The court also said it will “likely be necessary” to move the congressional and state Senate primary elections from June to August.
The lawsuit prompting the decision, filed by a group of Republican voters, argued that the district boundaries crafted by the Democratic-controlled Legislature and signed off on by Gov. Kathy Hochul were unconstitutionally gerrymandered in favor of Democrats and proper procedures were not followed.
A lower appeals court determined last week that the Democratic-drawn maps violated the state’s ban on partisan gerrymandering and partially upheld an earlier ruling that would block the state from using the lines in this year’s midterm elections while greenlighting redrawn state Senate and Assembly districts.
Now, both congressional districts and state Senate districts will have to be redrawn before the state can hold a primary, which was scheduled for June 28 but now will likely be moved to August.
Democrats in the Legislature drew up the maps earlier this year after an independent commission meant to take politics out of the process wound up deadlocked.
The 10-member bipartisan panel failed to reach a consensus and voted to send a pair of competing maps, one drawn up by Republicans and one by Democrats, to lawmakers.
“The Legislature responded by creating and enacting maps in a nontransparent manner controlled exclusively by the dominant political party,” Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals Janet DiFiore wrote in Wednesday’s decision.
Hochul, also a Democrat, signed off on the final product in February, all but guaranteeing that Albany and New York’s congressional delegation would remain blue for the next decade.
The state lost one congressional seat following the 2020 census and will have 26 representatives in the House starting next year. The ruling from the state’s top court could have national implications as both Republicans and Democrats seek control of Congress in this year’s midterm elections.
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