Maryland lawmakers just proved a New York judge wrong to think nothing can be done this year to fix Democrats’ unconstitutionally gerrymandered district maps. He now has no excuse for not ordering new ones for the 2022 elections.
Justice Patrick McAllister said it was “highly unlikely” new maps could be ready in time for New York’s primaries in June and the general election in November, so ordering them for this year risked leaving voters without legitimate representation.
The “prudent course,” he said, would be to use the Democrats’ maps, even if he rules them unconstitutional, and “if necessary, allow an election process next year if new maps need to be drawn.”
Hah! Last week, a Maryland judge ordered a new congressional-district map for the state after finding that the one drawn by that state’s Democratic-controlled legislature illegally disenfranchised GOP voters. She set a Wednesday deadline, and, guess what: By Monday — just days later — Democrats produced a new map. New York Dems can surely move as fast.
Besides, the Board of Elections says primaries can be held as late as Aug. 23 and still meet federal requirements. So there’s plenty of time.
But McAllister has no excuse for keeping an unconstitutional, pro-Dem map in place. It’s clearly designed to cut New York’s GOP seats in Congress from eight to just four (while Dems get 22) and leave just 15 of 63 state Senate seats in Republican hands. If he’s truly worried about legitimate representation, that plan must never take effect.
And the case against it, by the way, itself got stronger with the Maryland decision: The same gerrymandering expert, Sean Trende, testified in both the Maryland and New York cases that the Dems’ maps were gerrymandered (here, with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s backing) to squash political competition. That clearly violates New York’s constitution.
Fortunately, McAllister has been open to plaintiffs’ pleas and suggested remedies. Final arguments are due Thursday, and he’s expected to decide by Monday. With plenty of time to order the right thing, he has no grounds not to.
