New York’s highest court handed Democrats a massive win ahead of the 2024 election cycle, ordering a state commission to redraw congressional district lines as the party tries to regain seats lost during 2022’s elections.
The New York’s Court of Appeals’ decision last week ordered the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission [IRC] to submit congressional maps to the state Legislature by Feb. 28. However, the state could land in a similar messy redistricting situation as 2022, according to New York-based Republican election attorney Joseph Burns.
“If you go back to 2022, those maps were challenged, the state Senate and congressional maps were thrown out, then you had the special master drawing the Senate and congressional districts. Well, what that resulted in was two separate primary elections. One that was set by the judge for the Senate and Congress in August, and then the one for every other office … in June,” Burns said.
“Look, is it possible we could be back at that again this year if the new maps that are approved are challenged in court? It’s entirely possible. I can tell you, going through 2022, it wasn’t a fun experience.”
New York has been in the midst of a redistricting saga stretching back to before the 2022 election cycle. Voters in the Empire State approved an amendment to the state’s constitution in 2014 that reformed its redistricting process and prohibited partisan gerrymandering. It ultimately created the bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission, which is tasked with redrawing congressional lines.
The commission, however, failed to reach a consensus ahead of the 2022 election, allowing the Democrat-controlled legislature to step in and draw the maps.
Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul signed the redrawn maps into law, sparking legal action from Republicans that the maps gave Democrats the upper hand in 22 of the state’s 26 districts. A county judge at the time struck down the Democrat-drawn maps before Democrats in the state took the case to the Court of Appeals.
The Court of Appeals also struck down the map and appointed a “special master” to redraw the congressional lines ahead of the 2022 election. Republicans that year won five out of the six competitive House races in New York and flipped four blue seats red.
The state was forced to hold two primaries in 2022 amid the confusion, which was speculated to carry heavy costs footed by taxpayers. Primaries in New York typically cost between $40 million and $60 million, Bloomberg Government reported last year, to cover costs for everything from printing ballots to compensating poll workers. Holding two primaries was speculated to subsequently run taxpayers roughly $120 million.
With the court’s ruling last week directing the commission to redraw the maps on a tight deadline, the state could potentially relive a similar situation in 2022 if Republicans challenge the new maps, Burns speculated.
One lawsuit was already floated even before the court’s ruling last Tuesday, when a group called Stop NY Corruption said the maps must remain as they were in 2022.
NEW YORK’S LEGAL BID TO REDRAW HOUSE MAP COULD DECIDE CONTROL OF CHAMBER
“Stop NY Corruption’s position is that the IRC should simply adopt the current Congressional map, as-is. After all, the Democrats did not object to the maps in their lawsuit – they don’t think the maps are unfair or gerrymandered, so there’s no reason whatsoever to redraw new maps,” the office of constitutional attorney Bobbie Anne Cox told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. Cox serves as the executive director of Stop NY Corruption.
The office added that a potential lawsuit “will depend upon whether or not the IRC adopts the current maps, or if not, what the resulting new maps look like.”
Click HERE to read the full article on Fox News.