Mid-decade congressional redistricting took another twist last week; this time in New York. On Jan. 21, in the case Williams vs. New York State Board of Elections, Acting Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman ordered the state’s so-called Independent Redistricting Commission to draw new lines for New York’s 11th congressional district, covering Staten Island, which currently is represented by Republican Nicole Malliotakis.
Along with mid-decade redistricting actions in several other states, the Williams litigation and resulting developments could have important ramifications, from how to ensure voting rights, to which party controls the House of Representatives in 2027. Since last summer, new lines have been drawn in Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina following President Trump’s effort to win more Republican congressional districts through mid-decade redistricting.
Democrats are fighting back in Virginia and Maryland where new maps are currently being considered. Republicans in Florida are expected to take up mid-decade redistricting in a few months. As discussed below, much remains to be seen in this New York story.
As drawn by the state’s Legislature in 2024, New York’s 11th congressional district includes Staten Island and Brooklyn’s Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, and Bensonhurst communities.
In Williams, plaintiffs alleged that those district lines diluted minority voting strength in violation of the state constitutional requirement to protect minority voters in communities where minority voters can’t elect their preferred candidates when voting is highly polarized. Specifically, they suggested that minority voters would have a greater opportunity to impact who gets elected to Congress if parts of Lower Manhattan (generally south of 14th St.) were added to the district. They reasoned that Staten Island’s minority voters have more voting interests in common with Manhattan residents than with those residing in Brooklyn.
In his decision, Pearlman determined that the current 11th district lines dilute the ability of minority voters to have a meaningful impact in electing a member of Congress. He called the map “a contributing factor in the lack of representation for minority voters.” While Pearlman did not adopt the plaintiff’s “illustrative” Staten Island-Manhattan map, he ordered the state commission tasked with developing a new map for the 11th district. He set a Feb. 6 deadline for the commission to act. The judge may approve a new map or direct the state legislature to also take action. Much has to happen in the next two weeks.
Democrats heralded the court order, criticizing the current map as one that does not take into consideration the Black and Hispanic demographic changes on Staten Island and explaining that the decision “reaffirms that New York’s Constitution provides robust protections against racial vote dilution.”
Speaking for Republicans who expect the new map to make it more beneficial to Democrats, former Congressman John Faso criticized the judge’s ruling as one calling for a racial gerrymander and opined that it is likely to be reversed on appeal.
Prospects ahead are uncertain. The clock is ticking toward Feb. 6. Republican parties have already appealed the decision to the state’s Appellate Division and also directly to the state’s highest tribunal, the Court of Appeals in Albany. They’ve indicated that unless they receive guidance on the case from the state courts by Feb. 10, they will appeal directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court often puts a “stay” or hold on court decisions that fall too close to an upcoming election, adding more uncertainty to the outcome of the case.
It remains to be seen if a commission, which is evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, can agree on a plan. In 2021, also lacking an odd number tie-breaking vote, the commission failed to meet its mandate to submit new maps to the state Legislature based on new 2020 census data and requiring state courts to step in. If somehow the commission does submit a map, it’s likely that the state Legislature will have to approve or further modify the map. All of these steps take time.
Regardless of the outcome of the Williams case, we can expect even more action on redistricting in Albany this year. The New York State Legislature is expected to consider a state constitutional amendment to permit mid-decade redistricting or further modifications to the 2014 state constitutional amendment that created new redistricting reforms. Stay tuned.
Wice is a distinguished adjunct professor and senior fellow at New York Law School.
