(CNN) — New York’s highest court on Tuesday ordered the state to redraw its congressional maps, handing Democrats a major win as they seek to flip a key number of Republican-held seats in the upcoming 2024 election.
By a 4-3 vote, the court ordered the state to once again restart the mapmaking process. New York’s 26 congressional districts now will ultimately be shaped by the Democratic-controlled state legislature.
The long-awaited decision could help flip control of the US House of Representatives after next year’s elections. Republicans currently hold a thin majority in the chamber – one that grew even smaller with the recent expulsion of Republican George Santos.
The decision by New York’s State Court of Appeals upends a previously drawn map that led to Republicans flipping four seats, victories that helped the GOP win a majority in the House in 2022.
The decision is likely to be challenged by New York Republicans, who immediately denounced the ruling.
“The decision today opens the door for Democrats to rig our Congressional district lines so that elections are decided not by the voters, but by politicians in a back room,” New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, the chair of the House GOP conference, and Ed Cox, the chairman of the New York GOP, said in a joint statement.
The fight over New York’s congressional maps stretches back to a constitutional amendment approved by voters.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved
