Democrats in NYS Legislature weigh redistricting plans as session draws to an end

ALBANY — Democrats in the State Legislature have just four session days left to pass two possible amendments to how the state draws its congressional districts, one of the most pressing issues facing them outside of the budget.

The push to revamp the state’s unwieldy redistricting process comes as Democratic- and Republican-led legislatures nationwide are redrawing their maps in the middle of the decade, hoping to capitalize on the number of seats their party controls in Congress.

The finer points of the two bills were still being negotiated, said State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria).

"Hopefully, by the end of the weekend, we'll have that locked up," he said on Friday. "This is a critical moment in the history of our nation and New York cannot afford to sit on the sidelines."

Democrats intend to pass two possible amendments to the state constitution to give themselves options, he said.

Under the state constitution, any amendment must pass during two consecutive legislative sessions. Then it can appear on the ballot the following November for voters to approve or reject.

Gianaris said Democrats are looking at a number of changes but do not intend to get rid of the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission.

"It could be any scale of things, anything as simple as allowing a mid-decade redistricting to happen this one time to a restructuring of the IRC process to deal with some of the obvious flaws that we experienced in the last go-around," he said.

In a memo last month, Jeffrey Wice, a senior fellow at the New York Elections, Census and Redistricting Institute at New York Law School, recommended a number of tweaks to the state’s process.

One change would be to install a law school dean as a chair to cast a tiebreaking vote for the 10-member Independent Redistricting Commission. After the 2020 census, the state’s redistricting process became bogged down when the commission repeatedly stalled on 5-5, party-line votes to approve new maps.

Wice also suggested simplifying the commission and State Legislature’s voting process on any new maps to require simple majority approval.

Other suggestions include capping the State Senate at 63 districts, creating a ranked criteria of priorities for the redistricting commission to consider, ending the practice of counting imprisoned New Yorkers in the congressional district in which the prison sits and making it clear the State Legislature has final approval over any new maps.

Given that Democrats control both houses of the State Legislature, any changes likely will be pushed through over Republican objections.

Assembly Minority Leader Edward Ra (R-Garden City South) said: "I think they very much in a lot of ways started this redistricting war, so we're going to be pointing that out. And whatever comes to the floor next week, we certainly plan to debate it strongly and make sure we make those points."

New York Democrats’ push to redraw the state’s 26 congressional districts comes during a nationwide fight among Republicans and Democrats to revamp districts lines to maximize their chances of controlling Congress.

The pressure was ratcheted up in April, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, allowing Republicans to swiftly eliminate at least three majority-Black House seats in the South that Democrats now hold.

States such as Louisiana, Alabama and Florida immediately drew new maps that erased Democratic seats.

Last month, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) dispatched Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-Rochester) to the state Capitol to talk with Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders on the importance of ensuring Democrats maximize the number of seats they can win in the coming election cycles.

Democrats control 19 of the state’s 26 congressional seats, with Republicans holding the remaining seven.

Morelle told reporters he believed if Democrats didn’t respond to Republican efforts to maximize seats in Congress, it could lead to a permanent Republican majority.

"I think the voters understand that this is now, in some ways, an existential threat to the Republic," he said.

Democrats are expected to win back the majority in the House in 2026. But the amount of redistricting this year across the country could narrow that majority significantly.

The state constitution currently bans partisan gerrymandering and maps that dilute minority voting strength.

Whatever changes or eventual new maps the state decides on, a court battle is almost a certainty.

"One way or another, I'm sure maps are going to end up back in court down the road somewhere," Ra said. "But there's a lot of steps before we get there."