A New York judge ordered state officials Wednesday to redraw the congressional district held by Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, handing Democrats a likely victory amid a nationwide political brawl over congressional lines.
State Judge Jeffrey H. Pearlman in an 18-page decision concluded Malliotakis’s Staten Island-based district violates a provision of the state constitution that bars the abridgment of voting rights for racial minorities. He ordered the state’s redistricting commission to draw new lines by Feb. 6.
An appeal is expected, and Malliotakis said she is confident the existing lines will ultimately be upheld.
The ruling comes as Republicans and Democrats try to redraw maps across the country ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. President Donald Trump over the summer started pressing state lawmakers in Republican-run states to take the unusual step of redrawing their maps for political gain years before the census is conducted. In response, Democrats began redrawing maps in states they control.
New York is not among the states that have redrawn their districts. But as the broader fight played out in other states, a group of New York voters sued in October over Malliotakis’s district to argue it violates a 2024 amendment to the state constitution. Pearlman on Wednesday agreed with them by finding that the contours of the district abridged the voting rights of Black and Latino voters.
The district includes Staten Island and part of Brooklyn, and its “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,” the judge wrote.
The district has had a similar outline since 1980. But the demographics of the district have changed dramatically over time. Forty-five years ago, the district was 85 percent White but now is about 57 percent White, Pearlman wrote.
A new, more racially diverse district could give Democrats a good shot at winning the seat.
Malliotakis in a statement said she is reviewing the decision.
“Nothing changes the fact that this is a frivolous attempt by Washington Democrats to steal this congressional seat from the people and we are very confident that we will prevail at the end of the day,” she said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) praised the ruling in a statement, saying, “The voters of New York deserve the fairest congressional map possible.”
Since the summer, officials in four states have drawn nine districts in Republicans’ favor, and Florida lawmakers are looking to give them more seats in the coming months.
Democrats have drawn five districts in their favor in California and plan to ask voters in Virginia to let them draw as many as four more districts to their advantage. They also won a court case in Utah that probably will give them another seat.
Brianna Tucker contributed to this report.
The post Judge strikes down Republican congressional district in New York appeared first on Washington Post.
