New York high court orders state to redraw congressional districts

New York’s highest court has ordered the state to redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2024 elections. A move that could shake things up in the U.S. House of Representatives. The 4-3 decision orders that the state remaps its 26 congressional districts.

The order, which came down on Tuesday, Dec. 12, is a blow to Republicans who sought to keep the lines after flipping a couple of seats in the last election cycle, which helped give the GOP a slim majority in the House. 

The order seems to be an early victory for Democrats as the decision could help them reclaim control in the House in 2024. As it sits, New York has 15 Democrats and 11 Republicans representing the state’s 26 congressional districts in the House.

The chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Susan DelBene called the decision a “win for democracy.”

“We are eager for the Independent Redistricting Commission to get back to work to create a new, fair congressional map — through the process New York voters intended,” DelBene said in a statement.

Still, any of the redrawn lines will likely face Republican challenges. In a joint statement, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and state party chair Ed Cox called the decision “plainly wrong on the Constitution and the law.”

Joint statement from @EliseStefanik and @ChairmanEdCox on the Court of Appeals ruling: pic.twitter.com/VyhNGjqRVk

— New York GOP (@NewYorkGOP) December 12, 2023

“New York Republicans will not give up the fight against gerrymandering and for free and fair elections,” Stefanik and Cox said. “The people of New York deserve better than this.”

While the maps will be redrawn by New York’s bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission, the state legislature, which Democrats control, will have final approval of the maps. The order places a deadline for the newly drawn maps of Feb. 28.