With the introduction of a single constitutional amendment in the waning days of the legislative session, New York has entered the redistricting wars.
Nearly a year after New York Democrats promised to wade into a national tug-of-war prompted by President Donald Trump’s push for Republican-led legislatures to engage mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms, state lawmakers are poised to ask voters to approve a multi-prong change through the amendment introduced late Monday.
It would allow for mid-decade redistricting in 2028, and more generally outside of the normal census-driven process when deemed necessary. Additionally, if approved by voters, it would make clear that the legislature has the authority to draw maps if the Independent Redistricting Commission fails to produce one, as well as remove language prohibiting the consideration of incumbency and political party eliminating anti-gerrymandering provisions.
The amendment would also allow maps to be approved by a simple majority vote and explicitly directs court challenges back to the legislature for resolution.
The amendment’s official introduction was first reported by Politico.
The effort, backed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, will not affect the 2026 midterms because of New York’s requirement that a constitutional amendment be passed by two consecutive, separately elected legislatures before going on the ballot, delaying any redraws until the 2028 election cycle.
“New York cannot afford to stand still,” said state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. “We cannot ignore the reality that Republicans have repeatedly sought to undermine democracy through various attempts to gain political advantage. At a time when democracy is under attack across the country, we have a responsibility to protect all voters including the minority communities and ensure that every New Yorker continues to have a voice. This legislation remains firmly rooted in the democratic process, giving New Yorkers themselves the final say at the ballot box. We believe these changes will ensure that our state has the tools necessary to preserve a level playing field in the face of Republican-led efforts to tilt maps and weaken democratic participation– without compromising the integrity of the Independent Redistricting Commission.”
Deputy Senate Majority Leader Mike Gianaris said Monday afternoon that initial plans to pass multiple amendments to provide state lawmakers with flexibility to account for changing circumstances when it comes time for second passage next year had been scrapped in favor of a single proposal.
“I’m not sure you’ll see multiple options by the time we’re through with this conversation,” he said, before elaborating that he expects that to be the case.
Gianaris traded barbs Monday with Rep. Mike Lawler, who appeared at the state Capitol with fellow Republicans to rail against Democrats, whom Lawler and others accused of “starting” the redistricting wars in a chain of events stemming from New York’s redistricting efforts in 2022.
Lawler told reporters that his criticism of the move holds up to scrutiny because he has openly opposed Trump’s efforts in Texas and other states, but he reserved his outward contempt almost exclusively for New York Democrats.
Lawler accused them of ignoring the will of the state’s voters after a similar ballot measure failed in 2021. He argued that a map drawn by Democrats in 2022 following an initial deadlock of the Independent Redistricting Commission was thrown out by a judge who found Democrats had not allowed the independent process to fully play out before drawing their own maps.
That decision ignited two years of legal chaos. A special master redrew New York’s maps for the 2022 congressional elections before the Independent Redistricting Commission submitted a set of maps that was ultimately modified by state lawmakers in 2024 ahead of that year’s congressional races.
“I’ve spoken to the White House. I’ve spoken to the President about it. But we are here, and my point with New York is this is the fourth attempt by a state that started this. Don’t act like they didn’t start it and say, ‘Oh, Trump and Texas,’ ” he said.
Gianaris has long disputed Lawler and other Republicans’ account of those events and criticized the 2022 decision throwing out the maps as illegitimate and as an improper constraining of the state legislature’s constitutional authority. Regardless, he doubled down on the current effort as a response to the Trump administration, insisting that outweighs any complaints about New York’s conduct in past cycles.
“The fact that there are states in the country that are expressly abusing the redistricting process and the fact that the Supreme Court has turned the Voting Rights Act on its head has created a very different environment than whatever the hell Mike Lawler wants to talk about,” he said.
The amendment is expected to receive a vote before lawmakers leave Albany at the end of the week. It will have to be passed again next year before being put before voters in the fall in order to be in place ahead of the 2028 election.
