ALBANY — The Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state on Wednesday threw out the congressional and state senate district maps that had been drawn up by the Democratic majority in the state senate. The ruling is the third decision by a court that the maps were drawn to intentionally benefit Democratic candidates.
Two lower courts had previously issued decisions saying that the maps were gerrymandered to favor Democrats running for state and congressional seats.
The latest ruling in the case brought by members of the Republican party may require the primary elections for various positions, including the gubernatorial race, to be moved from June to August. The New York State Board of Elections is reviewing the decision to determine if new petitions will be required to be filed by candidates for congress and the state senate.
The latest ruling in the redistricting case orders that a state Supreme Court judge and a designated expert will be responsible for drawing the maps for the districts.
