New York Democrats push redistricting amendment, joining national battle

ALBANY, New York — Democrats have finalized their plans for a state constitutional amendment to change New York’s redistricting process — joining a national battle over drawing congressional boundaries.

The changes would enable Democrats to shift as many as four Republican-held House seats to their column in the 26-member delegation — giving the party a slight edge in a state with several swing districts.

According to a memo summarizing the plan reviewed by POLITICO, the amendment would remove the state constitution’s prohibition on mid-decade changes, let Democrats approve maps with a simple majority vote, and delete a prohibition on maps drawn to benefit political parties.

Democrats have spent recent weeks plotting out plans to advance a pair of amendments, one that would enable a full-fledged gerrymander and another that would allow for modest change, with the goal of picking one to finalize next year. Instead, they wound up opting for a lone amendment to enable an aggressive approach. Lawmakers are planning to vote on it before ending their annual legislative session Thursday.

Voters would need to approve a referendum on the amendment in November 2027 — which both parties expect will be one of the country’s most expensive political fights next year. That would allow for changes before the 2028 elections.

The amendment signals Empire State Democrats’ formal entrance into a pitched, nationwide fight that stands to have sweeping consequences for how power is wielded in the coming years.

“New York cannot afford to stand still. We cannot ignore the reality that Republicans have repeatedly sought to undermine democracy through various attempts to gain political advantage,” New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said in a statement. “At a time when democracy is under attack across the country, we have a responsibility to protect all voters including the minority communities and ensure that every New Yorker continues to have a voice.”

New York’s redistricting process has been a long-term project for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Brooklyn lawmaker who has tried to encourage blue states to match Republican redistricting efforts across the country. Jeffries previously deputized Democratic Rep. Joe Morelle to work with state lawmakers on the effort.

Blue and red states have spent the past year in an escalating redistricting tit-for-tat. After state courts blocked a Democratic plan in Virginia and the Supreme Court opened the door for more aggressive pro-Republican changes elsewhere, the GOP has a 10-seat advantage. New York presents one of the ripest opportunities for Democrats to make up some of that ground.

Democrats currently have a 19-7 advantage in New York’s congressional delegation. Gerrymandered lines would pave the way for them to target one of the two Republican seats on Long Island, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ Staten Island seat, Rep. Mike Lawler’s Hudson Valley district and one of three upstate Republican districts.

Republicans aren’t planning to cede those seats.

“Bring it on, we will fight back, and we will win,” Lawler said about the likely referendum. “New York Democrats, who proclaim to want to protect democracy — they only protect it when it’s convenient, when it suits their purpose, when it helps them gain power. They don’t care one iota about the integrity of our elections when it serves their purpose.”

The proposed amendment would reorganize the constitutional requirements for new districts. Maps that are drawn with the goal of abridging minority voting rights would still be banned, though existing language would be rewritten to avoid conflicts with the Supreme Court’s recent decision on that front. And districts would still need to be contiguous.

But the proposal would delete language that bans districts drawn “for the purpose of favoring or disfavoring incumbents or other particular candidates or political parties.” That removal would allow for a more aggressive gerrymander than anything attempted by New York Democrats in the past.

The amendment would leave an independent commission tasked with drawing the maps intact. The inaugural run of that commission in 2022 resulted in deadlock between the five Republicans and five Democrats, and an eventual legal fight that ended with a judge tossing Democratic-drawn maps and drawing the congressional lines himself.

While the commission would still be around in 2032, the Legislature would have clear authority to draw the lines itself should it deadlock again. And it would be subjected to tighter deadlines, helping to avoid scenarios where legal wrangling results in lines being tossed after the start of election season.

Notably, Democrats would also be able to approve maps with simple majorities — an easier lift than the supermajorities currently required.

Democrats do not want a replay of 2021, when proposed redistricting changes were rejected by voters after a well-funded opposition campaign led by the Conservative Party. The challenge for Democrats is simple: Voters tend to tune out odd-numbered voting years when no statewide races will be on the ballot.

“All parties have to come together and determine what the strategy is going to be so that voters know about the referendum and favor it,” said state Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs.

Asked if that will require spending cash to persuade New Yorkers, he responded, “I believe so, yes.”

Republicans have few remaining toeholds of influence in New York. The party lost its final lever of statewide power in 2018 after Democrats won control of the state Senate. Crucial House seats — especially in bellwether New York City suburbs — have been a crucial prize for the GOP. Like Democrats, Republicans will also have to formulate plans to encourage voters to reject the amendment or face an existential crisis.

“It’s pretty clear that this is not motivated by good-government notions,” former Republican Rep. John Faso said.

Democrats, though, insist they need to take an aggressive approach given the national, long-term stakes.

“The world has changed dramatically on the issue of redistricting just in the last couple of years,” state Senate Deputy Leader Mike Gianaris said. “You have some states jumping in off-cycle to draw new lines, you have the Supreme Court upending the Voting Rights Act. It’s critical that states like New York don’t keep ourselves out of the conversation and give us an opportunity to be responsive to what’s happening.”

المصدر: Politico