New York GOP wins as court rules Democrat-drawn congressional maps are unconstitutional

Earlier this year, New York Republicans filed a lawsuit against the Democrat-controlled state Legislature, alleging that the congressional maps they had drawn up were gerrymandered to favor Democrats, according to the AP.

On Wednesday, the state's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals, ruled against the Democrats, ordering that the maps to be re-drawn. The ruling "found by 'clear evidence and beyond a reasonable doubt that the congressional map was unconstitutionally drawn with political bias' to 'significantly reduce' the number of competitive districts."

The court's ruling stated that the maps will be drawn by a "special court master" in a process overseen by a lower state court "with all due haste."

"Judicial oversight is required to facilitate the expeditious creation of constitutionally conforming maps for use in the 2022 election," the ruling stated, "and to safeguard the constitutionally protected right of New Yorkers to a fair election."

New York's primary elections are slated to be held June 28, however many speculate this date will be pushed back as a result of the ruling.

New York's congressional maps were set to be created by the Independent Redistricting Commission, as per a 2014 law, with an equal number of Republicans and Democrats having a say in where the lines were drawn.

When they failed to come to a consensus, the Democrat-controlled state Legislature rushed to create its own congressional maps, which were signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul.

As the Associated Press reports, New York could lose a congressional seat as a result of population shifts, making it more important for Democrats to focus on maintaining their hold on the state.