CASE SUMMARY

On February 3, 2022, a group of New York voters filed a state lawsuit against New York’s Governor, Lt. Governor, legislative leaders, State Board of Elections, and the Legislative Task Force on Demographic and Reapportionment challenging the state’s 2010-cycle and newly enacted congressional redistricting plans as violating the New York Constitution. Plaintiffs alleged the state legislature lacked authority to pass its new congressional plan since it hadn’t yet received the constitutionally required second plan proposal from the state’s independent redistricting commission and, additionally, that the plan was a pro-Democrat partisan gerrymander in violation of the anti-gerrymandering provisions in the New York Constitution and state law. They also alleged the 2010-cycle plan had become unconstitutionally malapportioned due to population shifts in violation of one person, one vote. They sought a declaratory judgment the plans were unconstitutional and unlawful, an injunction barring the plans from use in future elections, and for the Court to either order the legislature to remedy the defects in the new plan or adopt a remedial plan of its own.

  • On March 31, 2022, the trial court struck down the state’s congressional, state Senate, and state Assembly redistricting plans as procedurally unconstitutional, finding the state legislature violated the New York Constitution’s redistricting procedures by drawing and enacting its own plans before having received and voted on the independent redistricting commission’s mandatory second set of plan proposals. It also held the congressional plan was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander drawn to benefit Democrats. The court ordered the state legislature to enact new, constitutional redistricting plans with bipartisan support by April 11, 2022, for the court’s review and, if they failed, the court would retain an expert to draw and impose remedial plans of its own. Defendants appealed to the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division the same day.
  • On April 8, 2022, the Appellate Division partially stayed the lower court’s decision allowing the state to continue preparing for the 2022 elections using the enacted plans but explicitly permitting the trial court to retain a neutral expert to prepare a remedial congressional plan while the appeal was pending.
  • On April 21, 2022, the Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s decision striking down the congressional plan as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander but reversed as to the three plans being procedurally unconstitutional. The court ordered the legislature to enact a remedial congressional plan by April 30, 2022. Defendants appealed to the New York Court of Appeals the next day.
  • On April 26, 2022, oral arguments were held before the New York Court of Appeals.
  • On April 27, 2022, the New York Court of Appeals declared the congressional and state Senate plans unconstitutional, finding both were enacted in violation of the state constitution’s redistricting procedures and the congressional plan was drawn was impermissible partisan bias. The majority explained the text and purpose of the New York Constitution’s redistricting reform amendments clearly intended for compliance with the Independent Redistricting Commission process to be a constitutionally required precondition for the legislature’s enactment of redistricting plans, and the legislature bypassed that process here to enact plans of their own design. The majority also affirmed the lower court’s finding of partisan intent guiding the congressional plan’s creation as adequately supported, specifically noting evidence that it was drawn to discourage competition. The Court remanded the case back to the trial court with instructions to adopt remedial plans with the assistance of a special master.
  • On May 21, 2022, the trial court’s special master submitted his congressional and state Senate plan proposals to the court and the court adopted them as final the same day.
  • On June 2, 2022, the trial court adopted minor revisions to both remedial plans based on recommendations from the Legislative Task Force on Demographic and Reapportionment.

CASE LIBRARY

Supreme Court of New York, Steuben County - No. E2022-0116CV

New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department - No. CAE 22-00506

New York Court of Appeals - No. APL-2022-00042