ALBANY, New York – A mid-level state court has unanimously sided with Democrats hoping to redraw Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ district and boosting Democrats' prospects for winning control of the House.
The ruling likely settles the matter for good in New York’s judicial system. But Republicans have also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a change in the maps. That case is moving quickly, and is now the last remaining obstacle for Democrats eager for a new pickup opportunity.
State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman sided with Democrats in a decision last month. He concluded the makeup of Malliotakis’ seat runs afoul of language in New York’s Constitution prohibiting maps that damage minority voting rights.
He tasked the state’s redistricting commission with drawing new lines. The changes would likely result in what's currently a safe Republican seat that combines Staten Island with moderate parts of Brooklyn turning into a toss-up district that merges Staten Island and Lower Manhattan.
Republicans quickly won a stay that prevented the map-making process from commencing. But in a brief order handed down Thursday, five judges on the First Judicial Department’s appellate division denied the GOP requests for an appeal and ended the stay. That means the redistricting commission now needs to get to work.
Since there was no dissent, Republicans are unlikely to be able to pursue the case through New York’s top court, especially before the Feb. 24 start of candidates petitioning to run in this year’s elections.
“You have an appeal as of right to the Court of Appeals when you have two justices dissenting, but their decision was unanimous,” GOP lawyer John Faso said.
Any hopes to block the change almost certainly now rest with the Supreme Court.
That court has upheld multiple new congressional maps in recent months. But those cases have largely involved political gerrymanders. And the court has traditionally been less willing to meddle in those than in maps motivated by attempts to adjust the demographic breakdown of districts — and Republicans are highlighting that race is at the center of the New York decision.
“This case does not present the thorny questions about the relationship between partisan and racial gerrymandering that have been raised in recent emergency applications, as States race to redraw their electoral maps before the 2026 midterms,” Solicitor General John Sauer said in a brief filed last week, arguing for the Supreme Court to intervene.
“Instead, the New York trial court here ordered an open and unabashed racial gerrymander, directing the State to replace a district where the candidate backed by white voters usually wins with one where the candidate backed by black and Latino voters usually wins — notwithstanding that those racial minorities will remain a numerical minority and that there is no race-neutral reason to manufacture a district where their preferred candidate nevertheless prevails.”
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor has ordered Democratic attorneys to submit their response by Thursday afternoon.
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