Hochul Faces Legal and Political Roadblocks to Mid-Decade Redistricting in New York
By: Joseph T. Burns
New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently suggested that the Empire State could undertake a mid-decade redistricting of its congressional districts, apparently as a form of political retaliation against Republican-led states that may conduct their own mid-decade redistricting. While the prospect of flipping House seats may appeal to national Democrats, especially in a narrowly divided Congress, Governor Hochul’s suggestion runs headlong into serious constitutional and political obstacles.
New York’s constitution poses the most immediate and formidable barrier to a mid-decade redistricting. In 2014, New York voters adopted a constitutional amendment that overhauled the state’s redistricting process. The amendment – which was initially approved by the state legislature with bipartisan support – created a bipartisan Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) and explicitly banned partisan gerrymandering. It also imposed clear limits on when redistricting can occur. Specifically, the amendment prohibits any mid-decade redrawing of congressional districts unless a court has first invalidated or modified a plan adopted by the state legislature.
That exception has already been invoked. Following the 2020 census, the Democratic-controlled state legislature rejected the maps submitted by the IRC and instead enacted its own maps. Republican plaintiffs challenged those districts in state court, arguing that they were unconstitutional gerrymanders in violation of the 2014 amendment. In a 2022 decision, the New York State Court of Appeals agreed, striking down the state legislature's maps and holding that they were drawn with impermissible partisan intent. After the Court of Appeals decision, a state trial court judge appointed a special master to draw maps which were used in the 2022 general election.
The Empire State’s redistricting wars, however, were not finished. Democratic plaintiffs filed their own lawsuit, arguing that the court-ordered map was meant to serve as a temporary remedy for the 2022 cycle only. They claimed that the state legislature still retained the authority to adopt a map for the remainder of the decade. In late 2023, the Court of Appeals agreed, holding that the state legislature was entitled to act again under the process established by the 2014 amendment.
The state legislature, in early 2024, approved new congressional districts. This time, no court challenges were filed. These maps were used in the 2024 general election and remain in force today. More importantly, because this redistricting plan was adopted after a prior plan was invalidated by the courts, it satisfies the constitutional process. Under the state constitution, there is no further opportunity for mid-decade redistricting. Any new attempt by the state legislature to redraw congressional lines in this decade would be unconstitutional.
