Appellate judge tosses New York state Assembly maps
By Kate Lisa New York State
PUBLISHED 12:43 PM ET Jun. 10, 2022
The New York state Assembly maps adopted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in February are void, according to a state Appellate Court ruling on Friday.
The now-tossed Assembly district lines will remain in place for the June 28 primary and the Nov. 8 general election.
State Appellate Judge Susanna Molina Rojas ruled the Assembly maps were invalid because the Legislature drew its own lines after the state Independent Redistricting Commission failed to propose a second set of maps. The Legislature voted down the commission’s initial proposed lines after commissioners failed to reach consensus.
Last year, the Legislature passed a bill to allow lawmakers to redraw the maps if the commission didn’t complete its task. The state constitution’s language about the commission proposing subsequent maps is ambiguous.
“That’s what led to today’s decision,” said Jeff Wice, an elections and redistricting lawyer and senior fellow at New York Law School.
The Supreme Court in New York County will determine the process for redrawing the Assembly maps for the 2024 elections.
“The request for a delay of the 2022 assembly primary elections is denied in any event, because the redrawing and implementing of a new assembly map before a 2022 primary election delayed even until September is, at this late date, no longer feasible,” according to the ruling.
Nichols v Governor Kathy Hochul (2022-02301) by Luke Parsnow on Scribd
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