Court expert draws more GOP-friendly political maps

NEW YORK >> A court-appointed expert released a draft of new congressional maps for New York that are more favorable to Republicans than the original gerrymandered political maps drawn by Democrats.

The draft maps released Monday would help the GOP by creating five districts that lean Republican and at least four other districts where Republicans would be competitive. Maps drawn up by the Democratically controlled state Legislature as part of the redistricting process occurring every 10 years would have given Democrats a strong majority in 22 of 26 congressional districts, starting with this year's election, but those maps were struck down by a court.

Currently, the state has 27 congressional districts but is losing one as a result of the 2020 census. Republicans hold eight of those seats;

Last month, New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals, ruled those maps and maps for the state Senate were unconstitutional and failed to abide by an anti-gerrymandering process approved by voters.

Under a process passed by voters in 2014, New York's new district maps were supposed to have been drawn by an independent commission. But that body, made up of equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans, couldn't agree on one set of maps. The Democratic-controlled Legislature then stepped in and created its own maps, quickly signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat.

The appeals court, made up of judges appointed entirely by Democratic governors, sided with the Republican plaintiffs who argued the Legislature sidestepped the process set forth in the 2014 reforms, including a provision in the state constitution barring the redrawing of districts for partisan gain.