A New York state court may have given domestic Democrats the edge they need to flip control of the US House of Representatives in 2024.
After a lengthy legal saga, the appeals court on Thursday ordered state lawmakers to redraw the congressional competitive maps the state had temporarily put in place for the 2022 midterm elections. The court sided with Democrats in a decision that some observers say will give the Liberals an electoral advantage in as many as half a dozen districts across the Empire State that were previously considered shaky.
For national Democrats, the decision is important. While New York state politics rarely have much influence on the direction of the country, recent redistricting battles playing out at the state level have taken on new importance in a bitterly divided Congress where Republicans hold only a majority. of 10 seats in the Chamber.
ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images
And New York, which has not endorsed a Republican for president since Ronald Reagan in 1984, has long been seen as a reliable source of power for Democrats. Hakeem Jeffries, Congressman from New York City, ascended to the position of House Minority Leader at the start of the Congressional session.
That influence was put to the test in the 2022 midterm elections after a neutral special teacher redrew the state’s maps following moves by the Democratic-controlled New York State Assembly to draw maps that would give Democrats a statistical advantage in 22 of the state’s 26 congressional districts while lumping together most of New York. York Republican voters in a handful of “super districts.”
At the time, New York Republicans said those plans gave Democrats a disproportionately unfair advantage. A state court agreed, and shortly before the midterms, ordered the neutral special master to create a map in which nearly one in five seats statewide would be considered competitive.
That ruling ultimately proved costly for national Democrats in a contentious election year that saw Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul face an unusually formidable challenge from a Republican opponent. According to the map drawn by the court, Republicans ultimately won 11 statewide seats, including four seats previously held by Democrats and six of which were won by President Joe Biden in 2020.
That number ultimately made all the difference for Republicans in an election year in which their anticipated “red wave” was hampered by factors such as national outrage over the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe vs. Wade. However, Democrats said after the election that the court-appointed Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) failed to offer the Legislature numerous voting options, as required by law. This sparked another lawsuit.
On Thursday, the appeals court agreed, writing in a majority opinion, “The right to participate in the democratic process is the most essential right in our system of government.”
The Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court continued: “The procedures that govern the redistricting process, all too easily abused by those who seek to minimize voter voice and entrench themselves in positions of power, must be protected.” as zealously as the right to vote for itself; by granting this petition, we return the matter to its constitutional design. Accordingly, we order the IRC to begin its functions immediately.”
NEW: New York court orders redistricting commission to meet and draw new electoral districts. The court found that the commission failed to comply with state law and did not fully complete its part of the redistricting process. https://t.co/3ZlHjpd5at
— Democracy Docket (@DemocracyDocket) July 13, 2023
The decision is another legal blow to national Republicans after a recent Supreme Court decision that struck down racially manipulated maps in Alabama, which some believe will have a ripple effect on similar plans in states like Mississippi and the Carolinas.
While Thursday’s decision could have significant implications on the national map, the legal drama in New York is not over, according to New York Republicans.
“We are moving on to the Court of Appeals,” former New York Republican Congressman John Faso wrote in a statement provided to the press after the decision. “We remain confident that the Court of Appeals will uphold the decision in Harkenrider v. Hochul: that it will uphold the fair lines set by the District Court and preserve the New York Constitution’s prohibition against mid-decade redistricting.” .
“The public should also understand what is really going on,” he continued. “Democrats want to rig congressional district lines in their favor. New York State now has more competitive congressional districts than any other state in the nation.”
Faso said the current districts are “fair” and “that’s why Hakeem Jeffries and the Albany Democrats are looking to change the rules of the game.”