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New York State Democrats Look to Bring Back Gerrymandered Election Rigging Once Again

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  June 09, 2023 8:15 PM

Although their majority in the House may be slim, Republicans still control the chamber, and it's largely thanks to New York. While Lee Zeldin, the Republican nominee for governor was not able to defeat Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul last November, he came pretty close. More importantly, he also helped elect down ballot candidates. One of those freshman New York congressmen includes Rep. Mike Lawler, who actually unseated former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, while Maloney was serving as chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) no less. 

It wasn't just strong candidate quality from many of the Republicans, though. To recap, state Democrats got cocky with their maps following the 2020 census. This included Hochul herself, to the point that the term "hochulmander" came about and trended over social media. What followed was some of the most egregious forms of gerrymandering, with such maps being litigated in the courts and ultimately thrown out. The maps clearly violated a state law enshrined into the New York constitution.

Due to the Democrats' own hubris, they were thrown into a panic as new maps were then put forth by a court-approved expert. Not only did Maloney ultimately lose, he also forced former Rep. Mondaire Jones to run in another redrawn district, with Jones going on to lose his primary to now Rep. Dan Goldman. That Maloney jumped at the move to run in a district many felt Jones should have run in led to cries of racism, as Jones is black. 

Former Rep. Carolyn Maloney also lost her primary after she and Rep. Jerry Nadler were pitted against each other in an incumbent-on-incumbent primary. Nadler beat her by more than 30 points in last August's primary. 

It does not look like Democrats have learned their lessons though, as they're trying to get new maps drawn before the 2030 census. There's now yet another court case, with a New York appeals court having heard oral arguments on Thursday. This one is brought by Hochul and Democratic Attorney General Letitia James on behalf of voters who want the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) to redraw congressional maps for the next election that it was supposed to submit for the 2022 elections but failed to do so. The commission's previous deadlocking is what caused state Democrats to drawn their own maps, which is what were thrown out. 

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As reporting from POLITICO explains it:

A constitutional amendment New Yorkers approved in 2014 says that an “Independent Redistricting Commission” draws a set of maps, then the Legislature can vote them up or down. If they are voted down, the commission draws a second set of maps that are once again given to the Legislature. If they’re voted down a second time, then lawmakers can draw their own lines.

But the commission last year never got around to producing a second set of maps. The Democratic-dominated Legislature drew its own lines, though they were ultimately scrapped once the courts intervened and drew the current lines for New York’s 26 House seats.

At issue now is whether the maps drawn by the courts were a one-off deal used only for the 2022 elections.

“The IRC has a constitutional obligation to finish drawing New York’s congressional map,” said attorney Aria Branch of the Elias Law Group, a Democratic-aligned firm which brought the case. The court “drew a map in emergency circumstances for the 2022 elections only. That emergency is now over.”

If they win, the entire process would presumably start over. A reconstituted redistricting committee would hold hearings throughout the state this fall and produce new plans by January. If two sets of the maps are voted down, Democrats in the state Legislature could have a new chance to pick up the pen and draw more advantageous lines.

Making the ruling even more interesting--which the losing side is almost certain to appeal--is that the makeup of the court is different, POLITICO explains. Former Chief Justice Janet DiFore, who wrote the opinion in favor of the GOP, resigned last summer. Justice Caitin Halligan, described as one "who is viewed as more solidly Democratic," was sworn in on Wednesday. 

In case there's any question as to motivations, notice how The Hill described the case, with added emphasis:

A New York court is set to hear arguments Thursday over the state’s congressional maps in a case that poses high stakes for Democrats as they look to make up lost ground in the Empire State.

Democrats want to have the state’s bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) redraw congressional maps after Republicans flipped a handful of House seats last November, delivering them a narrow House majority.

The party is allocating tens of millions of dollars to target districts held by House Republicans, including Reps. George Santos, Anthony D’Esposito, Mike Lawler and Brandon Williams, as Democrats seek to win back the majority in 2024.

...

New York Democrats are still reeling from November, when the state offered an unexpected gift for the GOP as several presumably safe Democratic House seats flipped red. D’Esposito and Santos won blue seats in Long Island, while Lawler unseated former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-N.Y.), who was the chairman of the House Democrats’ campaign arm that cycle.

Aiding Republicans in taking control of the House was a stalemate within the bipartisan commission tasked with drawing the maps. Instead, a court-appointed expert designed the boundaries used in November, creating lines that proved more favorable for Republicans.

These losses couldn't quite possibly be because New Yorkers were sick and tired of the problems plaguing their state and the country thanks to President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats?

"If the ruling is allowed to stand, the congressional map will remain in place through 2030, bolstering Republican chances of maintaining their gains. The losing side in the appeals court could further appeal the ruling, which is expected," The Hill goes on to add. 

Republican House members are held accountable to voters just like every other member is, in that they're up for reelection every two years. New Yorker voters shouldn't need new congressional maps dictating their right to reelect members or vote them out of office. 

"New maps wouldn’t be a silver bullet for what ailed Democrats in New York in 2022. Even if the Democratic-drawn maps had remained on the books, they would have likely only won one additional seat due to terrible showings on Long Island, where Republicans swept all four seats, and parts of the northern New York City suburbs," POLITICO had also acknowledged. 

Further, if you take a look at what Democrats tried to make Nadler's map out to be, there's no chance they have the idea of fairness, and certainly not "practical" in mind. Who is to say they've learned their lesson this time, especially when they seem to be desperate and vengeful enough when it comes to looking to take back control of the House in 2024. 

The Hill also references those opposed to the lawsuit. While three out of the 10 commissioners reportedly approve of the effort, that means a majority do not. Five commissioners expressed their opposition in a brief:

“The very section of the state constitution that Appellants point to as having been violated by the IRC in failing to submit a second set of maps, Article III, §4, also provides that a court may order a remedy for such violation,” the five commissioners wrote in their brief. 

“That judicial remedy, a court-ordered plan, is thus not outside of, but is itself built into, the constitutional process,” they added. “And here, the constitutional redistricting process, as it pertains to the congressional districts, had already been fully navigated and completed prior to this proceeding.”

Republicans are projecting confidence over the lawsuit. Former Rep. John Faso (R-N.Y.), who’s worked with GOP petitioners amid the legal challenges to the map, argued the only remedy last cycle was to have a judicially imposed map, given efforts to draw the map by the IRC and state legislature had been thwarted.

“I really think that the courts, just like the lower court judge refused their arguments or rejected their arguments, I think the appellate courts will do the same,” Faso added.

Particularly strong opposition was expressed by The New York's Post Editorial Board on Sunday when they warned of "Return of the Hochulmander: Dems are intent on rigging the vote again." In addition to describe what Democrats are trying to do, the editorial closes by warning that if state Democrats "get away with their new bid to gerrymander and lock in Democratic congressional seats, it’ll not only snub voters but also help transport their disastrous policies to Washington."

Former Rep. John Faso was also quoted by POLITICO with a warning on what Democrats are trying to go. "For all their pontificating and high-minded rhetoric about trying to defend democracy, well here they’re trying to subvert it," he said. "Their goal here, if they win, is to put this case back into the backrooms of Albany and D.C. so they can gerrymander the whole state."

The redistricting process could start again by the end of the summer, just a few months away from now. Democrats, in fact, are hoping to start the program over from scratch, POLITICO mentioned. 

Lawler, whose seat is a "Toss-Up," just as it was in the final weeks before last November's election, is confident in the process. "The state constitution is very clear that you do not have mid-decade redrawing of maps. This is a 10-year map. We have precedent from 2012 of a court-appointed special master drawing a 10-year map, and that’s exactly what happened here," he told The Hill. "The Democrats tried to rig the system, they got smacked down. They got whooped in the elections, and now they’re trying to rig it again."

The congressman once more chimed in by taking shots at House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is also from New York.