Democrats Reject Bipartisan Map and Will Redraw N.Y. House Districts

Democrats seized control over drawing New York’s congressional districts on Monday, rejecting a map proposed by the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission in favor of drafting new lines that could make key swing seats more Democratic.

On a day of high drama inside the State Capitol in Albany, party leaders argued that the Senate and Assembly had no choice but to reject the commission map in lopsided votes because it improperly split counties, broke up naturally occurring communities and favored incumbents.

But in private conversations, they made little effort to hide their true objective. With the battle for control of the House likely to run through New York this fall, Democrats here and in Washington are determined to use their supermajority in the State Legislature to tilt the playing field against Republicans from Long Island to Syracuse.

The exact contours of the replacement districts remained to be seen late Monday. State lawmakers were expected to quickly release a draft of the replacement map in preparation for approval later this week, but discussions stretched into the night.

Behind closed doors, Democrats were still haggling over a complex set of legal and political concerns. Three Democrats briefed on the discussions said they were headed toward a middle ground: lines that Democrats hoped would offset Republican gains from a new gerrymander in North Carolina, and that would not run afoul of New York’s ban on partisan gerrymandering.

If the emerging plan holds, the most significant changes would come on Long Island, in the Hudson Valley and around Syracuse. Democrats’ proposed changes could endanger a pair of Republican incumbents — Marc Molinaro and Brandon Williams — and help secure a Democratic one, Representative-elect Tom Suozzi, on the North Shore of Long Island.