Democrats to pursue amendment to allow NYS to draw new congressional maps

ALBANY — Top New York Democrats said Tuesday they are asking the Legislature to amend the state constitution to allow the state’s congressional maps to be redrawn.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-Rochester) said the change was a necessary answer to several Southern states redrawing their maps after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last week limiting the use of race in creating congressional district maps.

"I will simply say that I know our Legislature is prepared to work together with all of us in a concerted effort to fight back with everything we have," Hochul said during a news conference.

President Donald Trump has pushed Republican-led states to do away with the customary practice of redrawing congressional maps every 10 years, instead asking them to redraw them ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Under the current congressional maps, Democrats are projected to take control of the House of Representatives. But the high court’s decision last week sparked a cascade of states looking to redraw their congressional maps.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn) dispatched Morelle to talk with Hochul and legislative leaders on the importance of ensuring Democrats maximize the number of seats they can win in the coming election cycles.

Democrats control 19 of the state’s congressional seats, with Republicans holding the remaining seven.

New York’s practice is different from other states'. If the state Legislature were to approve a mid-decade change to its congressional districts, it would not affect the 2026 congressional races in the state.

Any change to the state constitution would need to pass two legislative sessions and then be approved by voters through a statewide referendum in 2027. The current legislative session ends on June 4, putting legislators on a short timeline to consider any changes.

State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) introduced a bill that would allow the the state to redistrict if another state had already done so.

Morelle stopped short of directly calling on the state Legislature to remove an anti-gerrymandering provision from the law governing redistricting, saying he supports independent redistricting.

But he called on the state to respond in kind to Republican-controlled states that seek gerrymandered maps that could give them more congressional seats.

"I don't want New York, and I don't want Democrats, to disarm and lead to a permanent majority by the Republicans because they engage in partisan gerrymandering," he said. “I think the voters understand that this is now, in some ways, an existential threat to the Republic.”

Morelle previously served in the state Assembly, including five years as the body's majority leader.

Hochul emphasized what she sees at stake earlier Tuesday.

“I don’t feel like I should be handcuffed in a fight for our democracy,” she said.