"Attorneys representing Malliotakis and five voters in her district are seeking to toss that ruling and keep the district as is, and on Monday filed appeals in both the appellate division of the Manhattan Supreme Court and the higher New York State Court of Appeals. They will also file an emergency motion to stay the decision, attorney Bennet J. Moskowitz said in a Jan. 26 letter to the judge, hoping to prevent maps from being redrawn while the appeal is being heard in court."
"John Faso, a lawyer representing Malliotakis and the constituents, said the court's decision was "flawed from beginning to end." The fundamental problem is the New York Voting Rights Act does not apply to congressional or legislative redistricting," Faso said. Judge Pearlman, in his decision, acknowledged the NY VRA does not apply to redistricting, but said the New York State Constitution "provides greater protections against racial vote dilution than the federal constitution or the federal Voting Rights Act.""
Nicole Malliotakis is appealing a Manhattan Supreme Court ruling that would force New York's NY-11 congressional district to be redrawn. Judge Jeffrey Pearlman found the existing NY-11 lines unconstitutional and said they disempower Black and Latino voters, ordering the Independent Redistricting Commission to produce a new map by Feb. 6 for the midterm elections. Malliotakis and five district voters filed appeals in the appellate division and the New York State Court of Appeals and plan an emergency motion to stay the decision. Plaintiffs alleged the 2024 map unlawfully diluted Black and Latino votes; defense lawyers argued the New York Voting Rights Act does not apply to congressional redistricting. Judge Pearlman nevertheless said the state constitution provides greater protections and the court must examine the "totality of circumstances."
Read at Brooklyn Paper
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