NEW YORK — New York’s highest court will hear arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit that could reshape the state’s congressional districts, which is expected to be a key battleground next year in the fight for control of the House. Representatives of the United States.
The Court of Appeals is holding the hearing in Buffalo as Democrats seek to eliminate the state’s district lines after losing congressional seats last year in a series of setbacks that helped Republicans win a narrow majority.
Democrats want to redraw districts in a way that will give the party an advantage in 2024. Republicans are trying to keep the map in place.
“New York is seen as a state that can provide more opportunities in Congress,” said Jeffrey Wice, a professor at New York Law School, adding that “each of these court battles is important as Democrats They try to recover the majority.”
The lawsuit comes after a failed redistribution effort of districts by Democrats for the 2022 elections.
The maps used in last year’s election were supposed to be drawn up by an independent commission. But Republicans and Democrats on the committee couldn’t reach a consensus and ultimately gave up, allowing the Democratic-controlled Legislature to draw its own map.
That gerrymandering was expected to give Democrats a big advantage by packing Republican voters into a few Republican super districts, while diluting their voting power in the rest of the state.
However, a legal challenge halted that plan. The Court of Appeals ruled that the 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, along with strong GOP involvement, led to Republicans flipping seats in the New York City suburbs and gaining control of the camera.
Now, Democrats want the Court of Appeals to restart the redistricting process.
They argue that the maps should be redrawn, following a series of procedures laid out in state law, rather than reusing the map drawn by the court last year.
Republicans have said the court’s expert proposed politically balanced districts that should not be discarded.
“They’re asking for a new opportunity to try to rig the state again, and it really goes against common sense,” said John Faso, a former Republican congressman who is advising Republicans on the case.
Similar struggles for redistricting tThey are still being fought in other places in the United States.
National Democrats have dedicated significant financial and organizational resources to retaking New York’s districts next year. Republicans aim to hold onto the seats, focusing on issues like crime and immigrants that they hope will energize suburban voters.
About a week ago, many looked to New York’s election results for clues about how suburban areas would vote next year.
Republicans, who won all four congressional elections on Long Island in 2022, continued their streak there with victories in the county executive elections. Meanwhile, Democrats scored victories in the city’s northern suburbs.
2023-11-15 15:11:32
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