ALBANY, NY — New York’s highest court last week gave Democrats a chance to redraw the state’s congressional districts, a major victory as the party tries to win control of the US House next year.
Now the question is how far the state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature will try to push boundaries in key battleground districts to give their party an advantage, and how far the courts will let them.
The process will be closely watched for any sign of partisan gerrymandering — drawing a line that gives one party an unfair advantage — which is prohibited by state law. And Republicans are expected to challenge the decision in court as they try to retain their slim House majority.
But experts say it’s unclear where the state’s highest court will decide what is too partisan.
“There is no hard and fast definition or bright line to define partisan gerrymandering,” said New York Law School professor Jeffrey Wice, who focuses on redistricting. “There’s really no bright line to know when a plan becomes too much of a partisan gerrymander. That is often based on a panel of experts and a judge’s decision.”
Part of the uncertainty in New York comes from a ruling by the state’s highest court last year, when it threw out a congressional map drawn by Democrats that was criticized for oddly shaped lines that crammed the state’s Republican voters into several superdistricts.
In that decision, the court focused more on questions about the procedural steps Democrats took to draw up the guidelines and spent only a few paragraphs on whether the district violated the state’s ban on gerrymandering.
It instead upheld a lower court ruling that found “clear evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the congressional map was unconstitutionally drawn with political bias” and that “the 2022 congressional map was drawn to discourage competition and favor democracy,” based on testimony and previous map analysis.
The court then appointed a special master to draw a new set of congressional lines for the last election, which along with a strong GOP turnout and dissatisfaction with Democratic policies, led Republicans to flip seats in suburban New York City and win control of the House.
After the election, Democrats sued to throw out the court-drawn map, arguing that the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission should get another chance to draw congressional lines. The court agreed in a ruling last week.
The new map will first be submitted to the commission, before the Legislature has a chance to approve or change the lines.
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Richard Briffault, a Columbia Law School professor with an extensive background in redistricting and government, said he thinks Democrats may be erring on the side of caution to avoid another lengthy legal battle before the election.
“My guess is they’ll be more careful,” Briffault said. “They are indeed wise to be more careful and not be too aggressive because they will definitely be sued.”
Democrats have targeted the state as a battleground for the House next year. The party has set its sights on six seats it wants to flip in New York, with the potential pickup reversing or even exceeding the expected loss of at least three districts in North Carolina after the Republican gerrymander there.
At the same time, redistricting litigation is underway in several other states, including Florida, Georgia and Louisiana, where Democrats hope to make gains. Democrats are also expected to pick up seats in Alabama, where districts were redrawn after a federal judge ruled that the original map drawn up by Republican state officials illegally diluted the voting power of Black residents.
“The parties are fighting this battle district by district in courtrooms across the country aimed at giving Democrats a better chance at the starting gate,” Wice said. “Every court victory counts in a big way.”
New York’s redistricting commission has been tasked with submitting a map to the state Legislature by Feb. 28. But Republicans are already crying foul.
“For all their rhetoric about defending democracy, we see what’s happening here in New York,” said John Faso, a former congressman who advises other Republicans on redistricting. “Democrats don’t want to win districts in elections. They want to win it in the Albany back room.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
