New York Democrats Draw Congressional, State Redistricting Maps

New York state Democrats on Sunday unveiled their plans for changing congressional and state legislative districts, releasing legislation on track to be considered this week.

The legislation (S.8172A/A.9039A) would provide for 26 districts, reflecting the loss of one seat after more-robust population growth in other parts of the country. That loss could have been prevented had just 89 more residents been counted in the 2020 Census.

The New York State Legislature, which is led by a supermajority of Democrats, faced a great deal of pressure to aggressively gerrymander the district lines to try to shore up the party’s chances in this November’s elections.

Stakes are especially high in the U.S. House, where Republicans could gain the majority, ending the unified Democratic control of the federal government and making it difficult for President Joe Biden (D) to accomplish his agenda.

(Subscribe to Ballots & Boundaries to follow how states revise political districts.)

To contact the reporter on this story: Keshia Clukey in Albany, N.Y. at kclukey@bloomberglaw.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Katherine Rizzo at krizzo@bgov.com; Tina May at tmay@bloomberglaw.com