Republicans ask Supreme Court to stop New York redistricting after state ruling
Republicans went to the U.S. Supreme Court to try to block New York from redrawing boundaries for the city’s only GOP U.S. House district, after a state appeals court ordered the process restarted. The move followed a court fight over the map for Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’ seat, a dispute that Republicans and Democrats described as consequential for this year’s congressional control battle.
The procedural path for the dispute traces back to an earlier decision by New York state judge Jeffrey Pearlman, who threw out the district boundaries last month. The decision came after an election law firm aligned with the Democratic Party argued the district diluted the power of Black and Latino voters in Staten Island and southern Brooklyn.
After weeks of uncertainty, the state appeals court issued a brief decision on Thursday that sided with Democrats. That ruling effectively told the state’s redistricting commission to begin work on a new congressional map, rather than proceed under the version the lower court had dismissed.
In response, Republicans filed emergency appeals to the Supreme Court seeking to place a hold on the original ruling. Malliotakis and GOP elections officials asked the high court to act quickly, according to the Associated Press report.
In her Thursday statement, Malliotakis said, “The U.S. Supreme Court has been unequivocal: race-based redistricting violates the U.S. Constitution.” She added, “I look forward to the Supreme Court’s intervention in this case to uphold the rule of law and preserve the integrity of our elections.”
The Supreme Court filing also cited timing concerns tied to election administration. An attorney for Malliotakis told the high court that Pearlman’s ruling had thrown “New York’s upcoming election into chaos,” the AP reported, and Malliotakis asked the Supreme Court to decide by Monday so petitioning could begin the following day under the current congressional map.
The Department of Justice, in filings connected to the Supreme Court request, supported the requests, according to the AP. The report also noted that Democrats were required to file documents in the Supreme Court on Thursday, though it was not clear when the court would rule in the New York case.
Outside the specific district, the consequences of redrawing one boundary line can spill into other districts, said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group. Horner said, “The clock is not the candidates’ friend on this one — unless the courts rule that Pearlman got it wrong and everything stays the way that it is,” describing the risk of disruption if the map changes late in the process.
Even if the Supreme Court declines to intervene, the AP report said the redistricting commission would still need time to complete the politically sensitive task, while candidate petitioning was scheduled to begin next Tuesday under the current map.