Gerrymandering

After New York’s highest court threw out new congressional district maps drawn by the state Legislature, the task of redrawing them has fallen to a rural judge and a researcher at Carnegie Mellon University.

In a stinging defeat to Albany Democrats, the New York Court of Appeals put a court-appointed expert in charge of redrawing district maps after finding that maps drawn by Democrats violated NY’s ban on partisan gerrymandering — putting this year’s election cycle into deep uncertainty. Melissa Russo reports.

It’s a huge decision. And we might be looking at pushing back the congressional and state Senate primary elections to deal with the fallout.

Judges on New York’s highest court peppered attorneys with sharp questions Tuesday as they considered whether to throw out new congressional district maps that Republicans say were unconstitutionally gerrymandered.

In a divided 3-2 ruling, the majority found the congressional map was unconstitutional — a decision that, if upheld, would block the use of those district lines for the upcoming midterm elections in November.

Did New York’s Democratic-led Legislature unconstitutionally pass new maps setting congressional district boundaries for the next decade? That’s among the questions before a panel of five appellate judges, who began hearing arguments Wednesday.

A trial court ruling that declared New York’s new congressional and legislative district maps unconstitutional was temporarily stayed Monday as lawyers prepared to argue before an appeals court.

A judge ruled that the newly drawn district maps are unconstitutional, finding that Democrats were biased when they drew them. Now there are worries that the decision could play into the fast-approaching Democratic primary. NBC New York’s Melissa Russo reports.

Notices of appeal were filed hours after a judge threw New York’s primary season in turmoil Thursday by ruling the districts were illegally gerrymandered to benefit Democrats

A judge has ordered New York’s Democrat-controlled Legislature to quickly redraw the state’s congressional and legislative districts after finding they were unconstitutional.

Efforts by Democrats to redraw New York’s congressional and legislative districts cleared an initial hurdle Thursday when a judge said there isn’t enough time before the June primary elections to redraw the maps, even if they are unconstitutional. “Therefore, striking these maps would more likely than not leave New York state without any duly elected congressional delegates,” Judge Patrick...

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed off on new maps for the state’s congressional districts that give Democrats a heavy political advantage over Republicans, and that have been criticized by some non-partisan groups.

New York’s legislature voted Wednesday to pass new congressional district maps that will expand Democrats’ influence in New York politics for years to come.

The picture could come into greater clarity this week when New York’s redistricting commission submits to the state legislature a second attempt to draw a map.

Gerrymandering is surging in states where legislatures are in charge of redrawing voting districts used to elect members of Congress

New commissions approved by voters to reduce partisan gamesmanship in redistricting are instead splitting along partisan lines in some states.

New York is one of at least five states that added nonpartisan redistricting commissions in hopes of redrawing maps free of political influence and contorted gerrymanders, but the competing maps released Wednesday drew immediate criticism from some quarters as being entirely partisan

Democrats are wondering if they erred in pushing too hard in some states for a nonpartisan redistricting process.

Redistricting is taking place without previous federal protections, and voters of color could lose out even as Census data shows the U.S. is now more diverse.

While Democrats and Republicans battle over voting rights, election integrity, and rules regarding mail ballots, relatively few in Washington have turned up the heat on gerrymandering, a uniquely American problem that winds up disenfranchising tens of millions of American voters. Armed with the new Census data released last week, political groups across the country have started the once-in-a-decade process of...