Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’s (R-NY) seat representing Staten Island is in jeopardy after a New York judge gave the go-ahead for a new state congressional map.
New York Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman ruled that the current, 2024 legislative map must be redrawn by the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission by Feb. 6. The state’s GOP is expected to challenge the decision, as Malliotakis hopes the appeal will keep the state’s 11th district intact.
The petitioners in the case and Democrats against the current legislative map have said the map marginalizes minority voters in the state’s 11th District, which has covered Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn since 1980. Petitioners pointed to drastically different racial demographics from when the boundaries were originally drawn, arguing for a new map districting Staten Island with southern Manhattan.
“Black and Latino Staten Islanders have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to elect a representative of their choice and influence elections … in violation of the prohibition against racial vote dilution in Article III, Section 4(c)(1) of the New York Constitution,” the petitioners wrote in court documents.
Pearlman, a former Democratic staffer for Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), agreed with Democrats and the petitioners in his ruling, determining the map unlawfully dilutes the votes of Latinos and black people in the district. He ruled that the 11th District must be redrawn by Feb. 6.
“Based on the facts presented by the expert witness reports and on the record, it is clear to the Court that the current district lines of CD-11 are a contributing factor in the lack of representation for minority voters,” Pearlman wrote. “Under the historic makeup of CD-11, which links Staten Island to southern Brooklyn, however, Black and Latino voters, who are already affected by a history of discrimination in the political process, education, housing, and more, are essentially guaranteed to have their votes diluted.”
Malliotakis has made it clear that New York City Republicans will not roll over after the judge’s decision.
“We will not allow them, or a judge who previously served as chief of staff for Kathy Hochul, to silence the voters of our district. We will use every legal option at our disposal, including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, to protect the voices of the people of Staten Island and Brooklyn, and we are very confident that we will prevail at the end of the day,” Malliotakis said.
She ripped into Democrats for resorting to redistricting as a method for addressing their inability to electorally unseat her. Malliotakis, who has served in the House since 2021, beat her last two Democratic opponents by 23.5% and 28% margins in 2022 and 2024.
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“Despite having a voter registration advantage in New York’s 11th Congressional District, Democrats can’t beat me on merit, policy, and debate. So what do they do? They file a meritless lawsuit claiming our district disenfranchises minorities to take out the first minority to represent the district and steal our seat,” Malliotakis, whose parents are Greek and Cuban immigrants, wrote on X.
New York Democrats’ redistricting push comes just months before the midterm elections, as House Republicans work with a razor-thin GOP majority. The effort is part of the national redistricting push-and-pull between Democratic and Republican states as they work to enhance their parties’ chances in the lower chamber in 2026.