We want to make sure you saw this op-ed by John Faso in this morning’s Buffalo News:
Buffalo News Op-Ed: Democrats’ Challenge to New York Redistricting Lines is Invalid
By John Faso
The latest Democratic Party challenge to New York’s congressional district lines will be heard in Buffalo by the state Court of Appeals on Nov. 15. This case has national implications.
After the Court of Appeals ruled Democrats’ redistricting plan unconstitutional last year, Republicans won a five seat majority in the U.S. House due to their victories in the Empire State.
The court, in Harkenrider v. Hochul, interpreted constitutional provisions adopted in 2014 banning partisan gerrymandering and creating an exclusive process for redistricting limiting the unfettered ability of the Legislature over redistricting. The ban on partisan gerrymandering is the strongest in the nation and the Court of Appeals required new district lines to be drawn under the supervision of a neutral expert.
That should have ended the matter until 2032, after the next federal census.
But it didn’t. Democrats started yet another legal action alleging that the remedy imposed last year in the case of Harkenrider was only valid for the 2022 elections. They argue that the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) had failed in its duty to submit a second redistricting map to the Legislature in January 2022 and that the courts should order the commission to return to work and redo the congressional map yet again.
The court should reject this lawsuit…
Continue reading at BuffaloNews.com