The New York Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Democrat leaders violated the state’s constitution by outlining new areas of Congress and the U.S. Senate by ordering a court-appointed special master to draw replacement lines for this year’s critical by-elections.
In an extensive 32-page ruling, the divided New York State Court of Appeals rebuked Democrats for opposing the will of voters who passed constitutional reforms in 2014, including a new external commission, to limit political influence in the redistribution process. The judges also found that the congressional constituencies made up of Democrats had violated the state’s explicit ban on guerrilla leadership.
Through the 2014 amendments, people in this state have adopted substantial reforms to reorient the region, aimed at ensuring that the starting point for reorienting legislation will be the regional lines proposed by the bipartisan commission after significant public participation, thus ensuring a voice to every political party and all stakeholders in those ranks, “Chief Justice Janet DiFiore wrote of the four-judge majority.
The uncontested verdict severely defeated Democrats in Albany and Washington and left this year’s election cycle in deep uncertainty. In order to comply with the withdrawal of new constituencies, the Court of Appeals indicated that the party’s primary elections for the congressional and state senate areas will have to be postponed from June to August.
The judges were silent on whether to move the gubernatorial and state elections, but noted in the majority opinion that New York had held split primary elections before. Given the judges’ reasoning, the Assembly’s maps seem to have survived only because the Republicans who filed the lawsuit did not explicitly challenge them.
The National Democrats relied on cards approved by the U.S. Legislature in February to get up to three new seats this fall and offset the gains from redirecting Republicans to the states they control. As Democrats’ gains are likely to be wiped out in New York, Republicans are on track to make modest national gains, making it easier for them to regain control of the House of Representatives this fall.
The decision makes New York the most famous state so far in this cycle, in which the map was hit by guerrilla madness. Courts in Ohio, North Carolina and Alabama have so far uncovered cases of guerrilla or racial atrocities by Republicans, and courts are expected to look closely at new lines in Florida that predominate in favor of Republicans. And in Maryland, lawmakers were ordered to redraw an “extreme Gerrimander” who favors Democrats.
The court’s findings could also undermine Democrats’ attempts to position themselves as a party to vote, and could view their attacks on Republican fraud efforts as hypocritical.
The devastated congressional map, adopted by Democratic super-majorities in February, reconfigured three Republican counties to new locations suitable for Democrats on Long Island, Staten Island and downtown New York, eliminating a fourth Republican district in the north. Overall, the map would give Democrats an advantage in 22 of New York’s 26 congressional districts, compared to 19 seats currently held by Democrats and eight by Republicans.
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