NY’s Top Court Orders Congressional Redistricting

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — A ruling Tuesday by the state’s top court called for redistricting of the congressional map in a major effort toward the Democratic Party winning back the House of Representatives.

It is expected as many as six Republican-held seats could be flipped, The New York Times reported.

By a 4-3 vote, the State Court of Appeals ordered New York to begin the mapmaking process that would eventually send control of the state’s 26 congressional districts to the Democratic-led state legislature, the Times said.

The new map must be drawn up by the state’s redistricting commission by Feb. 28.

Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James issued a joint statement after the court’s ruling was released, saying that the decision will ensure all New Yorkers are fairly and equitably represented by elected officials.

“As the Court of Appeals reaffirmed today, district lines should be drawn by the Independent Redistricting Commission,” they said. “We will continue our efforts to protect voting rights for all New Yorkers.”

In the majority opinion, written for the court by Chief Judge Rowan Wilson, the Independent Redistricting Commission abdicated its constitutional duty — for which the public voted in 2014 — to provide that it draw legislative districts.

“The Constitution demands that process, not districts drawn by courts,” the opinion said. “Nevertheless the IRC failed to discharge its constitutional duty.

“There is no reason the Constitution should be disregarded,” the court said.

Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-District 19, posted a comment on X, which was previously known as Twitter, saying that there was nothing fair about the ruling.

“Dragging redistricting on for years will create more confusion and frustration for voters,” he wrote. “We have to get these lines finalized.”

Mondaire Jones, the former Democratic congressman for the Hudson Valley who is seeking his party’s nomination for Congressional District 17 against MaryAnn Carr, called the decision the end of “one of the darkest chapters in New York State history.

“Today’s decision is a victory for every New Yorker who wants to be fairly represented at the federal level,” he said. “As a co-author of federal legislation to create independent redistricting commissions in every state, I know we have a lot of work to do to build a true multiracial democracy. But this is a good first step.”

He said he urges Albany to follow the procedures and rules spelled out in the state constitution this time around and adopt a map issued by the Independent Redistricting Commission.

With additional reporting by Jerry Barmash/Patch.