U.S. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis is interesting a courtroom determination that will power NY-11 to be redrawn.
File picture by Todd Maisel/File picture courtesy of Getty Photos
Republican congress member Nicole Malliotakis is interesting a choose’s ruling that will power her district to be redrawn.
Manhattan Supreme Court docket choose Jeffrey Pearlman final week mentioned the prevailing traces of NY-11 are unconstitutional and disempower Black and Latino voters throughout the district. He ordered the state’s Impartial Redistricting Fee to attract up a brand new map by Feb. 6, so it could possibly be used for the upcoming midterm elections.
Attorneys representing Malliotakis and 5 voters in her district are in search of to toss that ruling and maintain the district as is, and on Monday filed appeals in each the appellate division of the Manhattan Supreme Court docket and the upper New York State Court docket of Appeals.
They can even file an emergency movement to remain the choice, legal professional Bennet J. Moskowitz mentioned in a Jan. 26 letter to the choose, hoping to stop maps from being redrawn whereas the enchantment is being heard in courtroom.
John Faso, a lawyer representing Malliotakis and the constituents, mentioned the courtroom’s determination was “flawed from beginning to end.”
The present configuration of NY-11, which incorporates all of Staten Island and elements of southern Brooklyn. Picture courtesy of NYS GIS Knowledge 
An illustrated map displaying a possible reconfiguration of NY-11, included in courtroom paperwork. Picture through NY Supreme Court docket
The unique lawsuit in opposition to the prevailing district traces, which was filed by 4 New York Metropolis voters final fall, claimed the 2024 congressional map ignored altering demographics on Staten Island and violated the state’s Structure and Voting Rights Act by “unlawfully diluting the votes of Black and Latino voters in NY-11.”
“The fundamental problem is the New York Voting Rights Act does not apply to congressional or legislative redistricting,” Faso mentioned.
Choose Pearlman, in his determination, acknowledged the NY VRA doesn’t apply to redistricting, however mentioned the New York State Structure “provides greater protections against racial vote dilution than the federal constitution or the federal Voting Rights Act.”
As such, Pearlman wrote, the courtroom was liable for inspecting the “totality of circumstances” relating to the alleged constitutional violations. Based mostly on the evaluation of proof and testimony offered in courtroom, Pearlman mentioned there was “strong support for the claim that Black and Latino votes are being diluted in the current NY-11,” and that “it is evident that without adding Black and Latino voters from elsewhere, those voters already affected by race discrimination will remain a diluted population indefinitely.”
The choice was lauded by the New York NAACP, which mentioned Black and Latino voters in NY-11 had “been packed into a congressional district that dilutes their voting strength and denies them a meaningful opportunity to elect a representative of their choice.”
However Faso mentioned Pearlman “decided the case on factors that were not even argued in court.”
“The fact is, the original case was a political gerrymander masquerading as a voting rights case, and the judge’s decision is a political gerrymander based upon a racial gerrymandering argument,” he mentioned. “I think, on appeal, this case is going to be tossed.”
Malliotakis is New York Metropolis’s solely Republican congress member. File picture courtesy of REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Picture
It’s not clear how the enchantment will influence the drawing of latest maps. The courtroom dominated on Jan. 22 that the IRC must draw new maps for NY-11 by Feb. 6, as congressional candidates working within the upcoming midterm elections are supposed to begin circulating petitions by Feb. 24.
“Time is of the essence this matter, as the Order has now thrown New York’s 2026 Congressional Election — slated to begin on February 24, 2026 — into chaos,” Moskowitz wrote in his letter to the choose.”
He mentioned his purchasers would want “clarity” as as to whether a keep could be granted and the 2026 midterms to maneuver ahead beneath present maps by Feb. 10. If that timeline is missed, he mentioned, they may search “emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Malliotakis is New York Metropolis’s solely Republican congress member, and a redrawn NY-11 would probably profit Democrats throughout the town. If a brand new NY-11 included elements of decrease Manhattan, quite than southern Brooklyn, it could possibly be gained by a Democrat, and U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman, who presently represents decrease Manhattan and elements of Brooklyn in NY-10, has indicated that he would soar into the race in an effort to “retake the majority and make Hakeem Jeffries Speaker of the House.”
