The Rules of the Game Almost Always Determine the Winner
The grand finale to the redistricting saga.
Last week while most Americans were going about their daily lives unaware of the back room deals that were being made, the politicians in the halls of our capitol in Albany were scheming on how best to position themselves for a win to retake the House of Representatives this November. If you’ve been following my Substack, you’ll recall that I am the spokeswoman for a non-partisan organization called Stop NY Corruption, and for the past several months, we have been raising awareness about the redistricting saga that has been unfolding in our courts the past couple of years. Though I’m the spokeswoman for that organization, I write this article not on behalf of the organization, but as a Constitutional Law attorney astonished at the brazen acts of a party drunk with power, and all too willing to bend (or change) rules that stand in the way of their insatiable quest for total control.
After millions of dollars spent, and precious resources squandered, last week our Congressional district map was finally set… again. Technically it was set back in 2022, but the party in charge didn’t like losing control of the House of Representatives that year, so they reopened the issue to put themselves in a better position to retake control of the House this November. The party in control (the Democrats) had to not only bend rules but in some cases flat out change laws in order to achieve their gains. Here’s yet another perfect example of the toxicity of one-party-rule, and it is the epitome of the adage that the rules of the game almost always determine the winner. My standard disclaimer applies: I am not a Republican, nor does it matter my political affiliation. This is about our Constitution and the will of the people. Political parties do not matter when it comes to law, order, and a society governed by the people, for the people.
I have received many inquiries about this redistricting saga. With all its twists and turns, it’s not a simple topic or history to follow, but I’m hoping to clear up any confusion with this deep dive. As a way of background, prior to 2014, here in New York, our statewide voting districts were drawn by the members of our NYS legislature. However, New Yorkers grew tired of partisan gerrymandering, and so in 2014, we (the voters) changed the way our statewide voting maps are drawn. Instead of the (obviously biased) politicians in Albany drawing the maps, a bipartisan advisory commission (called the Independent Redistricting Commission or “IRC”) would draw the maps instead, and then the legislature would approve. We codified this change by making it part of our state Constitution when a majority of us went to the polls and voted to amend our Constitution to remove this power from the politicians and instead place the power with the bi-partisan IRC.
In 2018 the Republicans lost control of the NYS Senate to the Democrats, and the Dems also retained control of the NYS Assembly, which ushered in the disastrous era of one-party-rule here in New York State. In early 2021, the supermajority, Democrat-controlled state Senate and Assembly passed legislation that returned the redistricting power to them in the event the IRC couldn’t agree on maps. This went directly against the will of the people who no longer wanted the legislature to have the power to draw the maps. So, the Democrats were sued, and that law was struck down as unconstitutional.
Then in November 2021, the Democrats put on the ballot a proposed constitutional amendment that would repeal portions of the 2014 constitutional amendment that created the IRC. New Yorkers rejected that proposed amendment, and it failed in the court of public opinion and at the ballot box.
In early 2022, the IRC was supposed to create the new Congressional map, based on the results of the 2020 census. However, the IRC could not agree on “fair” maps, and so the Democrat led legislature illegally stepped in and drew gerrymandered maps. Again they were sued, again they lost, and the Court of Appeals (our highest court) tossed out those maps as unconstitutional. The trial court (based in Steuben County) appointed an independent special master (from Pennsylvania) who drew fair maps. The November 2022 elections (using the independently drawn maps) yielded a result that produced very competitive races and ultimately 11 Republican and 15 Democrat members of Congress were elected by New Yorkers. Republicans had flipped five New York seats in the House of Representatives from Democrat to Republican, and as a result, the House of Representatives is now controlled by Republicans.
The Democrats could not accept that, so they sued to try to get the right to re-draw the maps, again. This was a clear attempt at an unconstitutional power grab, first because our Constitution says maps are to be redrawn only once every 10 years (and that happened in 2022), second because you don’t get a do-over when your team loses, and third because this goes against the will of the people. New Yorkers have spoken loud and clear, twice already – we do not want gerrymandered voting districts! The lawsuit was dismissed by the trial court, then the appellate court overturned that decision, and the Court of Appeals upheld the appellate court. This means the IRC got to draw up a new map, mid-decade, in violation of our Constitution.
On February 15, 2024, the IRC issued its new map. It was not terribly different from the 2022 map, though some noticeable changes were made. The map went to the legislature for approval, but on February 26th, the supermajority, Democrat led legislature voted the map down. They wanted to draw it to their liking, just like they did in 2022. So they drew a map, late at night, behind closed doors, without Republicans in the room, without input from the public, and they issued a map that they wanted. Two key points here - immediately after they voted the IRC map down, the Democrats passed a law that limits where a citizen can bring a lawsuit to challenge a district map. In other words, you can no longer file a lawsuit in your home county if you want to challenge what you think is an unfair map. No. You must now go to Manhattan, Albany, Erie County or Westchester County to do so… arguably four of the most “blue” counties in our State. They can’t have pesky constitutionally inclined judges in other “purple” or “red” counties making those decisions. Nah. Oligarchy, folks. That’s what we are striving for here in New York.
The other point is that there was a 2% cap on the legislature’s ability to alter any voting district, meaning, once the IRC map went to the legislature, if it was voted down and the legislature wanted to “tweak” the map, they could not change any of the districts more than 2%. Well, that wasn’t going to work for the Dems, so what did they do? They changed that law, by overriding it with a new law that trumped that 2% cap provision! The result? They blew through that 2% cap restriction and created a new Congressional map in New York that has the districts the Democrats want. They blatantly went against the will of the people. New Yorkers don’t want the politicians drawing our maps, but will of the people be damned. What you want is of no import to the party in charge. A serious side-effect of one-party-rule. I will reiterate again here as I have many times in the past, when one party has total control, they go totally out of control. I don’t care which party it is.
Former Congressman and 2022 gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin has been very outspoken about this redistricting saga throughout. His work has been terrific - giving interviews, writing articles, and speaking publicly quite often on this topic. We did numerous press conferences around the State to raise awareness of this outrageous power grab. You can access our latest press conference here, and find others on the Stop NY Corruption website.
This is the statement Stop NY Corruption released in response to the new map:
What will the November elections hold for New York’s Congressional candidates and control of the House of Representatives? That remains to be seen. But one thing is for sure, the NYS Congressional map should have never have been drawn again in 2024. The Constitution says the map (once drawn after a census) is to stay in place until the next census, which is not until 2030.
Restoring the will of the people.
Though this tale will likely irk you, I hope you will use that emotion to fuel you to make a change instead of allowing it to shut you down. I give speeches and present at conferences and events throughout New York, and beyond, and I sometimes encounter people who tell me they aren’t going to vote anymore because they think it’s hopeless. They think their vote doesn’t count, or they say they don’t want to vote for the lesser of two evils. My answer to that is, if you don’t vote, then they win! Hands down, no question. Of course you will never totally agree with any politician on every issue, but not voting is only going to keep this perpetual cycle of greed and shameless power grabs in place.
We have an amazing opportunity this November to wipe the slate clean and elect candidates who honor the Constitution and will preserve our rights and freedoms. This year is not only a Presidential election year, there are also many members of Congress who are up for election, and here in New York every single one of our 213 NYS Senators and Assemblymembers are up for election! We can break this toxic cycle of super-majority, one-party Democrat rule. But we can only do that if you pledge to vote. Even better, don’t just vote, but try to get involved in helping our candidates make it over the finish line. I’m working with elected officials and grassroots organizations to help our candidates with an aim to flip the NYS Senate back to Republican control. Once we do that, the balance of power in our state government will be restored, for the Democrats will presumably control the Assembly, and the Republicans the Senate. This means the parties will have to negotiate to get anything done, instead of one party ramming their one-sided agenda down our throats. Want to get involved? Reach out to Uniting NYS (one of my plaintiffs in my quarantine lawsuit against Governor Hochul) at info@UnitingNYS.com
When politicians work in lock step, it usually means they made the deal before the vote. And that typically spells bad news for We the People. It is the antithesis of what a democratic society is supposed to look like. Back room deals, closed-door handshakes, secret meetings not open to public comment or scrutiny… that is NOT what our founding fathers envisioned when they risked everything and fought a long, bloody war to earn our freedom from a tyrannical king in England. We have lost sight of that foundational bedrock of our free nation - which is why we are no longer the free nation we once were.
Don’t be discouraged. Instead, be a part of the change you want to see happen… info@UnitingNYS.com
One could not give this important piece enough "likes". Thanks for all you do, Bobbie Anne.
Truly appreciate this important analysis!