New York Judge Orders Redrawn House Map, Dems Applaud

New York likely has to draw a new congressional map thanks to a Democrat-appointed judge’s ruling—drawing Democrat applause and Republican outrage over the possibility of Empire State conservatives losing representation in Washington.

The ruling could spell trouble for Republican control of seven New York House seats, and be decisive in handing Democrats control of the House.

On Wednesday, New York Supreme Court justice Jeffrey Pearlman ordered the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw its U.S. House districts due to “Black and Latino votes… being diluted” in the state’s Republican 11th Congressional District, represented by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. 

New York’s constitution requires that district boundaries not dilute the votes of “racial or minority language groups,” and details a process for petitioners to request a redrawing of the state’s congressional map.

The Case

Pearlman, an appointee of Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul who was her chief of staff when she was lieutenant governor, cites “racial appeals in Staten Island politics” as being “meaningful” for the question of whether the district’s boundaries dilute minority votes. 

Pearlman also cites the fact that “minority-preferred candidates ‘usually’ lose” as evidence of “racially polarized voting” in the district, one of his justifications for ordering a new map.

The case’s petitioners are all New York electors.

Pearlman also cites expert witness Dr. Thomas J. Sugrue’s testimony claiming Staten Island “has a long history of racial segregation, discrimination, and disparate treatment against Blacks and Latinos.”

Pearlman writes in his ruling that “time is of the essence to fix congressional lines in this case,” and that the redistricting commission must redraw lines by Feb. 6.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., was quick to applaud the ruling, calling it “the first step toward ensuring communities of interest remain intact from Staten Island to Lower Manhattan” on Wednesday.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., who represents much of the Bronx, told The Daily Signal on Thursday that he was generally supportive of redrawing maps.

“If there’s a congressional district that violates civil rights law, or either the federal or the state constitution, then, yes, it should be redrawn in accordance with our laws,” said Torres.

Republican Backlash

But Republicans denounced the ruling as a Democrat attempt to seize control of a House seat.

“Democrats can’t beat me on merit, policy and debate. So what do they do? They file a meritless lawsuit claiming our district disenfranchises minorities to take out the first minority to represent the district and steal our seat,” Malliotakis, who is of Cuban descent, wrote on X.

Malliotakis vowed to “use every legal option at our disposal, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court” to counter the decision.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who represents the lower Hudson Valley, also denounced the decision when speaking to The Daily Signal on Thursday.

“I think what you’ve seen is Hakeem Jeffries and Kathy Hochul have corrupted the New York court system for political purposes. This is the third attempt at redistricting in New York because they don’t want free and fair elections,” Lawler said.

Lawler added, “They don’t want competitive congressional seats. They want it handed to them. They claim in this lawsuit that Hispanic voters are disenfranchised, yet Nicole Malliotakis is Cuban. So it’s not about disenfranchising voters, it’s about the fact that she’s a Republican and not a Democrat.”

Lawler called for the decision to be reversed.

“This decision reeks of politics,” he told The Daily Signal. “It should be overturned at the appellate division. And as far as I’m concerned, it should be elevated to federal court.”

At a Thursday press conference, Jeffries provided The Daily Signal response to Lawler’s remarks of him corrupting the New York courts, sarcastically quipping, “I didn’t know I had that much power.”

Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to a request for a response to Lawler.

The National Democrat Redistricting Push

But Jeffries also told The Daily Signal he welcomes a new map shifting representation in Democrats favor, saying, “what you should continue to expect is that Democrats are going to fight for a fair national congressional map.”

“Republicans started this gerrymandering fight. Democrats are going to end it,” Jeffries continued.

“I’m looking forward to my meeting later on today with Gov. Wes Moore [of Maryland]. The people of Virginia are going to have an opportunity to vote on a fair map in the Commonwealth in the next few months.”

In Maryland, a commission assembled by Moore has drafted a map to boot the state’s sole Republican Rep. Andy Harris from Congress. Maryland redistricting efforts have been repeatedly stymied by court rulings.

In Virginia, Senate president pro tempore Louise Lucas has also repeatedly called for redistricting to reduce the state’s Republican U.S. House delegation from five members to one.

Democrat redistricting efforts pose a grave threat to Republicans, since an Indiana pro-Republican redistricting attempt failed in December, and Kansas’ state House Republican leaders have indicated redistricting may not be politically feasible.

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