Beware Democratic gerrymandering: The last one gave us Santos

Democrats were stopped cold by the state Court of Appeals last year when they violated the state Constitution by enacting an extreme partisan gerrymander.

Despite being caught red-handed, Democrats are back in court contending that the maps ordered by the courts were only for 2022 and that the State Legislature should get another opportunity to redraw the lines. The true intent of Democrats is to politically tilt districts, giving their candidates a better chance to prevail in 2024.

Last year's gerrymander wasn't wrong merely on principle: They won’t admit it, but that Democratic redistricting scheme was a large factor in the election of George Santos to Congress.

Santos ran in 2020 in the 3rd Congressional District and lost by a substantial margin. He again declared his candidacy in 2022 in NY3 which was dramatically changed under the redistricting plan advanced by Democrats.

Previously, NY3 encompassed areas in northern Nassau and Suffolk counties as well as part of northeast Queens. The district had long been held by Democrats, but Republicans were competitive. 

The new district was markedly different. It stretched from Suffolk and Nassau through Queens and Bronx counties and into Westchester up to the Connecticut state line. The newly redrawn NY3 was a lock for Democrats.

Republicans brought legal action against the entire congressional map and successfully persuaded the courts that the plan constituted an illegal partisan gerrymander.

Up to then, Santos was the only Republican who had filed to run in NY3. Though NY3 was now politically competitive, no credible Republican stepped up to run given the short time frame to get on the ballot and raise funding necessary to successfully compete.

Fair lines and a strong performance by GOP gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin allowed Santos to squeak into Congress. His legal problems virtually assure Santos won’t be in Congress after 2024, if not sooner. But the new redistricting case before the Court of Appeals will dictate whether partisan gerrymandering will again change NY3 boundaries and control our legislative and congressional elections going forward.

The state Constitution contains a strict prohibition against mid-decade redistricting, but Democrats persuaded a midlevel appellate court in a 3-2 vote that a redistricting do-over was needed. The state Court of Appeals will consider the case on Nov. 15.

If this ruling isn’t overturned, it will effectively nullify reforms adopted by New York voters in 2014, according to the state League of Women Voters. Those reforms greatly limited the power of the legislature over redistricting. Partisan gerrymandering will again become the norm as the State Legislature could return to business as usual.

New York State stands alone among states with its strict prohibition against partisan gerrymandering. Under the court-adopted plan, the Empire State has nine truly competitive congressional districts, more than any other state. Competitive districts mean candidates need to pay attention to all voters in their districts, not just partisans who vote in primaries.

Changing district lines will cause confusion among citizens and make it more difficult for candidates to plan and finance campaigns. 

An unintended consequence of the Democrats’ last effort to gerrymander New York’s congressional districts was that George Santos had a clear path to Congress.

The intent of the Democrats' latest legal action is to enhance their political power by rigging congressional lines in their favor. There is great political pressure on the Court of Appeals to rule in favor of Democrats. The reputation of the Court hangs in the balance.