Hochul keeps New York redistricting amendment alive, eyeing new congressional map by 2028

Hochul keeps New York redistricting amendment alive, eyeing new congressional map by 2028.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said Tuesday she remains open to a state constitutional amendment that would let Democrats redraw New York's congressional districts as soon as 2028, Gothamist reported. She stopped short of committing to the plan.

Speaking at her Manhattan office, Hochul said last week's Democratic wins nationwide do not end the case for a mid-decade redraw, because Republican-drawn maps in other states remain in place. "There's always another election every two years," she said, adding that she wants to "look at it long-term."

New York's constitution gives a bipartisan commission the job of drawing lines after each census, with legislators getting final approval, and offers no way to change them between censuses. In June, lawmakers gave first passage to an amendment that would allow mid-decade redistricting, remove the ban on partisan gerrymandering and make it easier for the Democrat-controlled Legislature to change maps on its own, according to Gothamist.

Because amendments must pass two consecutively elected legislatures, lawmakers would have to approve it again in 2027. That would put it before voters as early as November 2027. The Legislature returns in January with Democratic supermajorities in both chambers.

Republicans are pushing back. Former Rep. John Faso called the proposal "a terrible affront to the voters of our state," noting voters approved the current process in 2014 and rejected a Democratic change in 2021. State Sen. Shelley Mayer, who leads Senate Democrats' campaign arm, called it "premature" to say whether the amendment will move, while Rep. Joseph Morelle told POLITICO he would urge lawmakers to proceed.

Hochul acknowledged the "political landscape has changed" and said she would consult Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the likely next House speaker, and legislative leaders before deciding how to proceed.