New York’s highest court heard arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit that could reshape congressional districts in the state, which is expected to be a key battleground in the battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives next year.
The hearing at the Court of Appeals in Buffalo came as Democrats sought to eliminate state district lines after losing seats in Congress, giving Republicans a narrow majority last year.
Democrats want the maps redrawn in a way that will give the party an edge in 2024. Republicans are trying to keep the current district lines in place.
The case could have major implications for the upcoming elections, where Republicans’ control of the House of Representatives will be tested by races in New York and other states where redistricting would tilt seats in favor of both parties. can influence.
“New York is seen as one state that can provide more opportunities for Congress,” said New York Law School professor Jeffrey Wice, adding, “each of these lawsuits is important as Democrats try to claw their way back.” win to a majority.”
The lawsuit follows a failed redistricting effort by Democrats for the 2022 elections.
The maps used in last year’s election were said to have been drawn up by an independent, bipartisan commission created by voters to remove politics from the redistricting process. But Republicans and Democrats on the committee could not reach a consensus and eventually gave up, allowing the Democratic-controlled Legislature to draw its own map.
That map was expected to give Democrats a big advantage by clustering Republican voters in a few GOP superdistricts while diluting their voting power in the rest of the state.
However, a legal challenge stalled the Democrats’ plan.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the state legislature had not followed proper procedure in adopting the maps. Instead, a judge had an independent expert draw a new set of congressional lines that, together with the strong rise of the Republican Party, led Republicans in the New York City suburbs to flip seats and gain control of the House of Representatives.
Now Democrats want the Court of Appeals to restart the redistricting process.
They argued that the maps should be redrawn by the commission, following a series of procedures in state law, rather than reusing last year’s court-drawn map.
Republicans said the court’s expert had come up with politically balanced districts that should not be set aside.
“They’re asking for another attempt to regain control of the state, and that really goes against common sense,” said John Faso, a former congressman who is advising other Republicans on the matter.
Court of Appeal judges heavily scrutinized both sides during the nearly two-hour hearing on Wednesday, which focused on the interpretation of constitutional issues that remain hanging over the current map. It is unclear when exactly the Court of Appeal will rule in the case.
Similar redistricting battles are still playing out in other states.
Nationally, Democrats have deployed major financial and organizational resources to recapture districts in New York next year. Republicans are aiming to hold onto seats and are focusing on issues like crime and the arrival of migrants, which they hope will galvanize suburban voters.
About a week ago, many were looking to New York’s election results for clues about how the nation’s suburbs might vote next year.
Republicans, who won all four congressional races on Long Island in 2022, continued their streak there with victories in county executive races. Democrats, meanwhile, scored victories in the suburbs north of the city.