Judge Orders New York To Begin Redistricting Process 

The nationwide redistricting battle has taken an unexpected turn after a New York judge ordered the state to redraw its only congressional district represented entirely by Republicans. 

According to AP, Judge Jeffrey Pearlman found that Staten Island’s 11th District dilutes Black and Latino voting power. GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis currently represents the 11th District. The lawsuit was filed by a legal firm associated with the Democrats and argued that the current district lines don’t account for the population changes in the Black and Latino communities.

In his ruling, Pearl said the petitioners presented strong evidence of a “racially polarized voting bloc,” in addition to “a history of discrimination that impacts current-day political participation and representation,” and “that racial appeals are still made in political campaigns today.”

Pearlman gave New York’s independent redistricting commission until Feb. 6 to redraw the congressional map. The commission has been gridlocked on passing new maps, and it’s unclear what the next step would be if it can’t agree on a map before the deadline. The map proposed by the Democrats’ lawyers would move part of the Democrat-leaning 10th district into the 11th, potentially giving the Democrats a chance to flip control of the district. 

While the decision is likely to be appealed, should it stand, it could potentially give the Democrats another favorable district ahead of the midterm elections. “In the short term, this is a victory for the Democrats — with a clouded future,” Jeffrey Wice, a professor at New York Law School and redistricting expert, told NBC News. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a statement celebrating the ruling in the state he represents. “This ruling is the first step toward ensuring communities of interest remain intact from Staten Island to Lower Manhattan,” Jeffries’s statement read. “The voters of New York deserve the fairest congressional map possible.”

Ed Cox, chair of the New York Republican Party, issued a statement critical of the move. “This was a partisan ruling made by a partisan judge in a case brought by a notoriously partisan attorney,” Cox wrote. “The Staten Island/Brooklyn Congressional District has existed for almost 45 years.” 

Should the ruling stand, this is yet another setback in President Donald Trump’s attempt to gerrymander his way into a midterms victory. The unusual mid-decade redistricting battle began last summer, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called a special session focused on redistricting at the behest of Trump. After a long, fraught process, the Texas state legislature passed a new map that could add five House seats favorable to Republicans. Republican state legislatures in Missouri and North Carolina passed new congressional maps that add one new House seat for Republicans in each state, and Florida is currently in a special session focused on redistricting as well. 

What was supposed to be a surefire way to stack the deck in favor of Republicans has sparked significant resistance from voters and Blue states. California was the first to respond to the Texas redistricting effort, holding a special election in November for Prop 50, which transfers control of the state’s congressional maps from an independent redistricting committee to the state legislature. California voters overwhelmingly approved the prop, leading Gov. Gavin Newsom to implement a map designed to neutralize Texas’ gains. 

Virginia’s state legislature is currently undergoing a similar redistricting effort, which could net Democrats an extra three or four House seats in the state. In addition to Blue states potentially adding more seats, Missouri’s redistricting effort has been subject to a ballot initiative that could put the new map on the ballot this year, meaning the midterms would have to be conducted with the old map. 

It’s almost like the Trump administration should’ve spent more time on extending health care subsidies and tackling the cost-of-living crisis instead of trying to gerrymander a win and building a bootleg Gestapo that’s deeply unpopular with voters. 

SEE ALSO:

Maryland Redistricting Map Removes State’s 1 Republican Seat

Virginia Lawmakers Vote To Approve Redistricting Effort