Congressional District Map Approved by NYS Legislature on Feb. 2, 2022
ABC News reports a New York appeals judge said he will “likely” rule Friday on whether to continue blocking a lower court ruling that declared the state’s new congressional and legislative district maps unconstitutional.
New York’s electoral landscape was thrown into question last week when a Republican trial court judge ordered the state’s Democrat-controlled legislature to redraw the district boundaries.
State Judge Patrick McAllister gave state officials only until April 11 to submit new maps, saying the districts they had drawn up were illegally gerrymandered to favor Democrats.
The ruling came even as candidates have begun campaigning in the disputed districts ahead of a June party primary.
State Appellate Division Justice Stephen Lindley has already issued a temporary stay on that ruling. He said he’ll decide sometime after Thursday’s hearing whether to leave the stay in place for now, pending more legal action in the weeks ahead.
He could also lift the stay, which would put state lawmakers on an incredibly tight deadline to come up with new maps. Judge McAllister has said if lawmakers don’t meet his deadline, he would appoint his own expert to draw up new maps. The state would likely cover the cost of a special master. Courts sometimes designate an attorney not directly involved with a case, known as a special master, to address such concerns.
Lawyers for the Assembly and Senate argued Thursday that the ruling should be blocked for at least 30 days, and criticized the trial judge’s decision to strike down largely uncontroversial Assembly maps.
Meanwhile, a lawyer for the Republican voters demanded that lawmakers or a court master start working up new maps soon.
Judge Lindley said his primary concern is ensuring New York is ready if appellate judges agree that the new Congressional maps — and potentially Senate maps — are unconstitutional and must be redrawn.
Lindley said that back-up maps could be tossed if the appellate court decides the contested maps pass constitutional muster. He said New York could hold its federal primary as late as around August 23 or 24.
Thursday’s hearing likely won’t be the final word on the main issue: whether the new maps are so politically biased toward Democrats that they violate the state constitution.
The arguments are “just a skirmish along the way,” according to former U.S. Rep. John Faso, a Republican who has been helping muster support for the lawsuit challenging the maps’ legality.
A hearing for more arguments has already been scheduled for April 20.
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