A New York state judge ruled that New York City’s only Republican-held congressional district was drawn unconstitutionally, ordering a new map.
Judge Jeffrey Pearlman concluded that the Staten Island-based 11th District, which is represented by GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, diluted Black and Latino voting power.
Pearlman said New York’s independent redistricting commission must redraw the state’s congressional map by Feb. 6. His decision is likely to be appealed.
In the Democratic-led lawsuit, the petitioners argued that a new map should pair Staten Island with part of southern Manhattan, instead of southern Brooklyn, and move the southern Brooklyn area in question into New York's 10th District, which Democrat Dan Goldman represents.
Since the 10th District is heavily Democratic, moving part of it into the 11th District could give the party a chance to flip it in the midterm elections. Democrats control 19 of New York's 26 districts.
"In the short term, this is a victory for the Democrats — with a clouded future," said Jeffrey Wice, a professor at New York Law School and expert on redistricting in the state.
The order doesn't lay out a plan for what happens if the state redistricting commission deadlocks — as it has in the past — and it's unclear how quickly the appeals will move through the state courts, Wice said.
The ruling in New York comes amid the broader redistricting battle playing out across the country. President Donald Trump kick-started it last summer, urging GOP-led states to pursue new maps outside of the typical 10-year period to help the party protect its narrow House majority.
Democrats have since managed to respond more forcefully than initially anticipated. Most notably, California Democrats circumvented the state's independent redistricting to pass a map that could allow the party to net up to five seats, potentially canceling out any gains Republicans make under new district lines in Texas. All told, six states enacted new congressional maps last year.
This year, Democrats in Virginia are putting a constitutional amendment before voters that would pave the way for a new map, while Florida Republicans will hold a special legislative session on redistricting in the spring. In Maryland, Democrats are still debating whether to join the fray, too.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., who has pushed his party to respond to Republican redistricting efforts, celebrated the ruling in his home state.
“This ruling is the first step toward ensuring communities of interest remain intact from Staten Island to Lower Manhattan,” Jeffries said in a statement. “The voters of New York deserve the fairest congressional map possible.”
New York Republican Party Chair Ed Cox slammed the ruling.
"This was a partisan ruling made by a partisan judge in a case brought by a notoriously partisan attorney," he said in a statement. "The Staten Island/Brooklyn Congressional District has existed for almost 45 years."
