Democrats suddenly quiet about New York’s gerrymandering

New York’s deep blue Legislature on Sunday proposed congressional maps for the decennial redistricting process that may result in Republicans going from eight congressional seats down to four — possibly even three. The maps produced by the Democratic-controlled Legislature are filled with districts that are shaped like snakes, cross multiple bodies of water, and divide communities of interests.

“How do you end up [with ridiculous] shapes like this?” tweeted Dave Wasserman of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. “It’s a brutal map for Rs.”

Probably the most absurdly redrawn map is the one for Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler. His old district crosses the New York Harbor from Manhattan’s Upper West Side to Brooklyn. The new map leaves his seat safe but takes some far-left voters and puts them into first-time elected Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis’s district. Under the new map, her oddly shaped district goes from being a Trump +11 seat to a Biden +9, according to Wasserman.

Where’s House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s outrage about voter rights, transparency, and minority disenfranchisement?

This gerrymandering differs from other states because New Yorkers have voted twice for a bipartisan, independent redistricting commission. Voters did not want the Legislature to draw these maps. As recently as the 2021 election, voters defeated an attempt by the Legislature to abolish the commission by 10 points.

“Democrats are circumventing the will of the people,” said Nick Langworthy, chairman of the New York State Republican Party. “They can’t win on the merits so they’re trying to win the election in a smoke-filled room rather than the ballot box.”

Democrats fear a red wave in November will flip the House of Representatives to a Republican majority. One Democratic defense for their slim five-seat majority is aggressive gerrymandering in states where they control the process. The four redrawn Republican seats in New York could be the tipping point of control for the majority.

“These maps are the most brazen and outrageous attempt at rigging the election to keep Nancy Pelosi as speaker,” Langworthy said.

A year ago, Democrats were panicked Republicans would flip the House majority through redistricting. Republicans control both the governorships and legislatures in 23 states, while Democrats only have 15. This gives Republicans the power to draw maps in 187 districts versus the Democrats’ control of 75.

However, with more than 30 states having completed the redistricting process, it looks as if this year’s critical redistricting process may end up swinging as many as 10 seats toward Democrats. How is this possible? In many states, the Republican strategy has been to make red seats redder and safer for incumbents. The Democrats are trying to maintain as many seats as possible in a red wave and protect their majority status.

The only way for New York Republicans to stop these maps is to fight them in court.

“These maps are clearly unconstitutional and define partisan gerrymandering,” said John Faso, a former Republican member of Congress. “These maps fail in a number of constitutional provisions including compactness, contiguousness, and protecting minority rights.”

He added, “It’s possible some liberal groups could join our process.”

It’s still a long shot for Republicans. New York’s high court judges have all been appointed by Democrats, and the tight election schedule would require a court decision by March to get candidates’ names on the ballots.

Since the 2020 election, there has been nonstop Democratic thundering about election suppression, gerrymandering, and their version of reforms. But this only goes in one direction. There is no Democratic outrage about eliminating a bipartisan, independent redistricting commission that the voters supported twice. Why aren’t the Democrats indignant about the new maps that are shaped liked pretzels, are drawn in secrecy, and disenfranchise minorities?

This is a power grab to keep one party in control and prevent competition. It highlights the Democrats’ hypocrisy on voter rights, transparency, and gerrymandering.

Adele Malpass has worked as a business and political reporter for CNBC, the New York Post, RealClearPolitics, and other media outlets. She also has been the chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party.