A lawsuit filed by a group of Republican voters says political maps drawn by New York state Legislature takes away power from voters and puts it in the hands of the Democratic party’s legislative majority.
The challenge, filed in state Supreme Court in Steuben County, calls for a judge to draw a new map or send the current map back to the Legislature to draw up a new one, according to Albany Times-Union.
Although lawsuits concerning redistricting are not uncommon, this could be the first real challenge to the state’s Constitutional amendments from 2014. The changes said redrawn district maps “shall not be to discourage competition or for the purpose of favoring or disfavoring incumbents or other particular candidates or political parties.”
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 14 Republican voters by law firms Keyser, Maloney & Winner and Troutman Pepper, says the congressional maps the Legislature passed and Hochul quickly signed into law are unconstitutional. They also argue the new map made by the Democratic majority is “undeniably politically gerrymandered in their party’s favor.”
The new congressional map means Republicans lose three seats come the November election, bringing their representation in Congress from seven to four.
Democrats have swiftly denied doing anything out of compliance with the law.
A lawsuit is also expected to be filed over the maps that determined state Assembly and Senate political boundaries.
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