Judge Throws Out New York Congressional Map That Heavily Bolstered Democrats

A judge in upstate New York has rejected the state’s new congressional map for not being “bipartisan,” ordering the Democratic-controlled legislature to redraw them.

“Part of the problem is these maps were void …for failure to follow the constitutional process of having bipartisan maps presented by the [independent redistricting commission],” Steuben County Supreme Court Judge Patrick McAllister said in his decision released Thursday, according to the New York Post. “The second problem was the congressional map that was presented was determined to be gerrymandered.”

Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James said they “intend to appeal” the decision in a joint statement.

Cook Political Report senior editor David Wasserman tweeted that the ruling on the map, which would give Democrats a 22D-4R House seat advantage, is likely to be stayed on appeal, as the case will face “less GOP-friendly higher courts” moving forward.

“Dems believe map will remain in place, at least for 2022,” Wasserman tweeted, but acknowledged the “huge stakes” of the case. Cook Political Report already decreased the number of seats it projected Democrats to gain from redistricting to only one or two on Wednesday after major court decisions on maps in Ohio and Maryland.

Wasserman noted the timeline for primary elections would aid the Democratic-favored map, just as it did with the Republican-favored Ohio map that was originally tossed for gerrymandering. New York’s primaries are scheduled for June 28 and state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs told the New York Post they would not be rescheduled.