On NY congressional maps, compromise is the best course

Predictably, Democrats won their bloody fight to get another try at rigging New York's 26 congressional districts to better advantage their party in elections to the House of Representatives. The ruling Tuesday by the state's top court perfectly frames the corruption of one-party rule as Democrats over the last year-and-a-half brazenly manipulated all three branches of government to get this outcome. Incalculable damage has been done to the New York Court of Appeals as it can be justifiably regarded now as a partisan institution that delivers preordained outcomes. 

The 4-3 opinion by Chief Judge Rowan Wilson abandons precedent and principle in throwing out the congressional map used in 2022, ruling it was only to be used for one election, as if it were a disposable razor. Now the state's Independent Redistricting Commission is tasked with restarting what should be a once-a-decade process of redrawing the boundaries of House districts for the November 2024 general election. When the same bipartisan commission failed to come up with a map two years ago, the State Legislature drew ridiculously manipulated boundaries, triggering the litigation resulting in the 2022 map being designed by a court-appointed expert.

That process resulted in competitive districts and the surprise election of more Republicans than expected in a blue state, garnering the outrage of Democrats who then set about finding a way to do it over. Gerrymandering is historically one of the spoils of the electoral system on which both parties continue to feast in many states, especially now, when a few seats can determine control of the House. What stood out in 2022 is that a majority of the judges on New York's highest court refused to be compromised in the process.

The best path forward now is for the commission, and the political leaders that influence its members, is to create compromise maps that give and get politically while maintaining constitutional voting rights protections. The IRC should work from the existing map --- which in all the litigation was never cited as unfair or discriminatory  ---  and avoid making wild partisan swings that could provoke new litigation and a repeat of the chaos of two years ago. Show some respect to candidates and voters.  

Once this process is completed, however, it's clear the state needs an ironclad constitutional amendment that enshrines a new redistricting plan in time for the 2030 census. It's especially necessary because Wilson's opinion is a study in judicial overreach and will likely be cited in the future for the proposition that New York courts cannot correct a gerrymandered map. Heed the dissent written by Judge Anthony Cannataro which says "nothing has changed" since the 2022 case, known as Harkenrider, which found that under the state's constitution, the judiciary can correct an illegal redistricting process. Cannataro concluded,  "This time, however, politics triumphs over free and fair elections."