New York residents on Monday filed a lawsuit seeking to toss out the state’s newly redrawn political maps due to allegations that the redistricting plan discriminates against minority voters.
Last year, state Democrats led redistricting efforts that culminated in the approval of new maps that were designed to target then-GOP Rep. Brandon Williams’s seat and give Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) a boost. After Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) gave a final green light to the map, which was backed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Democrats picked up three House seats in the 2024 election in the 22nd, 19th, and fourth congressional districts. Williams lost his bid for reelection, while Suozzi was able to fend off a Republican challenger.
Democratic-aligned law firm Elias Law Group alleged this week that the 2024 plan discriminated against minorities in New York’s 11th District, which covers all of Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) holds that seat and the distinction of being New York City’s only Republican member of Congress.
The lawsuit argued that the map disenfranchised minority voters, stating that “Black and Latino Staten Islanders have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to elect a representative of their choice and influence elections.” The lawsuit demands that the legislature redraw the district to rectify its concerns.
Malliotakis appeared unfazed by the development targeting her district this week, as she posted to social media to thank President Donald Trump for endorsing her bid for reelection.
“Thank you President Trump for this early endorsement of my re-election posted over the weekend,” she said on X. “Together we delivered tax relief for middle-class families and senior citizens, increased the [state and local tax] deduction, secured our borders & deported the criminals who wreaked havoc in NYC.”
The firm’s lawsuit comes as Democrats look to counter nationwide Republican redistricting efforts designed to boost their political power in the lower chamber. In New York, that could look like scrapping the 2024 plan and creating a new proposal that party elders believe could better expand their reach in the state.
The 2024 plan was widely viewed as a modest redistricting proposal that stopped far short of more extensive gerrymandering efforts Democrats had previously pushed in New York in 2022 before being halted by the state’s Supreme Court.
State Republican leaders have slammed the latest lawsuit, calling it “a naked attempt to disenfranchise voters in NY-11 and elect a Democrat to this Congressional District contrary to the will of voters.”
“Now, Democrats attempt another gerrymander of NY-11 by linking Staten Island to Manhattan. The current Staten Island/Brooklyn district is compact, respects communities of interest, and has been approved by both the courts and the State Legislature. This latest lawsuit, brought by the same lawyers who previously defended the unconstitutional state gerrymander in 2022, is seeking a blatant racial gerrymander in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment,” NYGOP Chairman Ed Cox said in a statement.
While the lawsuit likely faces a long-shot path toward success, it represents growing Democratic resistance to Republican efforts in Texas and elsewhere to redistrict states. Such plans were most recently announced in Indiana.
REDISTRICTING WARS THREATEN TO MAKE CONGRESS MORE PARTISAN
In New York, Hochul has signaled support for Democratic redistricting efforts to combat the GOP.
“History will judge us for how we respond to this moment,” she said in August. “This is a war. We are at war. And that’s why the gloves are off, and I say, bring it on.”