Why Democrats' New York gerrymander won't be as aggressive as the GOP's efforts

"“People were walking across bridges and being mauled, and have lost their lives for these rights,” New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said of the VRA. “These laws are there because there has been a real effort to disenfranchise certain people, certainly Black people, from being able to vote. So we want to protect that.”"

"In the coming weeks, New York lawmakers are expected to begin the lengthy process of approving a constitutional amendment that would let them redraw congressional lines in 2028. If successful, the measure stands to turn a state with 19 Democrats and seven Republicans into one with a 22-4 or 23-3 edge. Such an outcome is akin to what Republicans pushed through in Texas last summer - but not as extreme as the 9-0 Republican map Tennessee lawmakers drew Thursday by eliminating a Black majority district in Memphis."

"Doing that would require eliminating districts that were protected by the VRA until last week. Those districts include the Brooklyn seat held by House Minority Hakeem Jeffries, who last month that Democrats need to “fight back with every tool available.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also emphasized the urgency Democrats are feeling Friday at an event honoring Rep. Jan Schakowsky in Chicago, stressing that the court order blocking new maps in Virginia “puts responsibility - even greater responsibility - to those of us in this room, specifically in New York and in the state of Illinois.”"

New York lawmakers are expected to begin a process to approve a constitutional amendment allowing redrawing of congressional lines for 2028. If successful, the change could increase Democratic advantage in a state that currently leans heavily Democratic. Similar strategies have been used by Republicans in other states, including Texas and Tennessee, where maps reduced minority representation. In New York, extreme outcomes are unlikely, but maps extending from the Bronx and Brooklyn into upstate and Long Island could still strengthen Democrats. Achieving such maps would require eliminating districts that were protected by the Voting Rights Act until recently. The change would affect districts including the Brooklyn seat held by Hakeem Jeffries. Democrats are emphasizing urgency and responsibility to respond to court actions affecting redistricting elsewhere.

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