“It’s very hard to defend a map like New York’s, and ultimately if it quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck.” “Like other state courts around the country, New York courts aren’t finding the question of whether a map is a partisan gerrymander a particularly hard one to decide,” said Michael Li, senior counsel for the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. The ruling was the second consecutive setback for New York's Democratic mapmakers, and this time it came in an appellate court that was viewed as generally friendly to the party. Ron DeSantis that would create four new Republican-friendly seats.
Republican gains were on track to grow further after Florida lawmakers this week approved a map drawn by Gov. Without them, Democrats are at risk of emerging from this year’s redistricting cycle having been bested by Republicans for the second consecutive decade. National Democratic leaders are counting on the maps their party drew in New York to help offset gains by Republicans. The outcome in New York will have significant implications in the broader fight for control of the House of Representatives. The judges there, all of whom were appointed by Democratic governors, have indicated they could render a final verdict as soon as next week. Kathy Hochul and top legislative leaders are expected to immediately appeal the decision to the state’s highest court, the New York Court of Appeals. “We are satisfied that petitioners established beyond a reasonable doubt that the Legislature acted with partisan intent,” a three-judge majority wrote in its opinion. A New York appeals court ruled on Thursday that new congressional districts drawn by Democrats violated the state’s ban on partisan gerrymandering, partially upholding a lower-court ruling that would block the state from using the lines in this year’s critical midterm elections.Ī divided five-judge panel in Rochester said Democratic legislative leaders had drawn the new House map “to discourage competition and favor Democrats,” knowingly ignoring the will of voters who recently approved a constitutional amendment outlawing the practice.
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