NY battle over voting map still has Democrats, GOP at odds

The panel charged with drawing New York’s congressional districts every 10 years is soliciting input from the public just in case the state’s top court throws out its current political map – again.

Or, more accurately, half the panel is soliciting input.

The five Democratic appointees on the state Independent Redistricting Commission, or IRC, issued a joint call for public comment last week, asking voters to submit their thoughts on what New York’s 26 congressional districts should look like if the Court of Appeals orders the panel to draw new district lines.

Absent from that call, however, were the committee’s five Republican appointees.

It all left a good-government organization, Citizens Union, to conclude Democrats and Republicans on the panel aren’t working together — which helped get New York into last year’s major redistricting mess in the first place.

Betsy Gotbaum, Citizens Union’s executive director and the former New York City public advocate, said the IRC should hold off on soliciting input until the Democratic and Republican appointees can “speak with a unified voice.”

“Soliciting input at this time only adds to the confusion and partisanship already present in the process,” Betsy Gotbaum, Citizens Union’s executive director, said in a statement.

“We urge members of the IRC to work together in advance of the Court of Appeals decision on congressional districting to avoid unnecessary confusion and ensure a cohesive process,”

New York’s congressional districts are the subject of a Democrat-led lawsuit that could have a significant effect on the national battle for Congress.

Last year, Republicans successfully sued to throw out a map that was favorable to Democrats — which came after the Democrat-led Legislature stepped in to draw it after the bipartisan IRC deadlocked and failed to produce a viable solution. As a result of the lawsuit, a state judge appointed an independent mapmaker to draw the districts — which were put into place less than six months before last year’s elections, when Republicans picked up four seats.

Now, Democrats have filed their own suit, arguing that the IRC deserves another chance at drawing the congressional map, since — as a result of the deadlock — it never sent a second set of proposals to the Legislature as required by the constitution.

So far, the Democratic effort has been successful, with the mid-level Appellate Division ruling in July that the IRC should “commence its duties forthwith.” But that ruling was paused after Republicans appealed to the high court, the Court of Appeals, which is set to hear arguments Nov. 15.

Last month, the Court of Appeals clarified that the pause “does not prohibit the IRC or its members from taking any actions.” That led the Democratic members of the IRC — led by Chair Ken Jenkins, the Westchester County deputy executive — to issue their solicitation for public comment, in the event that the court rules in the Democrats’ favor.

If the court kicks the issue back to the IRC, the Democratic members say soliciting comment will help the panel get new maps into place ahead of next year’s election. Every congressional race is on the ballot next year, and the state Legislature would have to act on the panel’s recommendation before any new district lines take effect.

“Any input received will be available to the full Commission and all Commission staff,” the Democratic commission members wrote.

If Democrats are successful in their lawsuit, a new set of congressional districts would be put in place for the 2024 elections and remain in place until the 2032 elections, when a new set of lines would be drawn on the latest Census figures.

To submit comments to the IRC, the Democratic commissioners said members of the public can send an email to submissions@nyirc.gov or regular mail to Attention: Submissions, Independent Redistricting Commission, 250 Broadway, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10007.