In 2022, after a long-fought legal battle, the once-a-decade redistricting of New York’s 26 congressional districts took place. The legal battle took place because political insiders attempted to hijack the process and draw district lines that were beneficial for incumbents and silence the voice of voters. In New York, where Democrats controlled the process, they are to blame for the political shenanigans. In some states where Republicans are in control, they attempted to do the same. In this political game, the well-connected political elite emerged as the winners, and as is all too often the case, the voters lost.
The plan was thwarted when legal challenges took the case to the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest judicial body. The process was taken away from partisan career politicians in Albany and handed over the drafting of new maps to a court-appointed, non-partisan special master, Dr. Jonathan Cervas, a well-respected academic at the Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie Mellon University, who has worked on redistricting projects in Georgia, Virginia, Utah, and Pennsylvania. Dr. Cervas’ maps were accepted by the court and for the first time in decades, New York had highly competitive districts that ensured that everyone’s vote mattered.
For the first time in a long time, voters were the winners because they got to pick their representatives in highly competitive elections. Now the Washington-based Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is back in court and is attempting to throw out the congressional district maps drawn by the non-partisan, court-appointed special master. If successful, the redistricting process would return back to the hands of the Albany insiders who took away the voice of New York’s voters in the first place. During my time as a State Senator, I saw up close what goes on in Albany. The entrenched political leadership is intent on maintaining their power, no matter the cost, because there is too much at stake. The implications of the court’s decision could have an impact well beyond New York and may be the deciding factor on which party controls the House of Representatives. My primary focus is ensuring that voters get to choose their representatives, not Albany insiders, which is why the competitive districts must stand.
