New York judge rules Malliotakis' district is unconstitutional, orders new map ahead of midterms

A New York judge ruled Wednesday that the state's 11th congressional district, which is held by GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, was unconstitutionally drawn and ordered the state's Independent Redistricting Commission to redo the map.

The ruling is a major win for Democrats after a group of New York voters sued in October, alleging that the map disenfranchised black and Latino voters in the district, which consists of Staten Island and part of southern Brooklyn.

New York Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman said voters showed a continuing pattern of “discrimination against minority voters” in the district that would worsen under the new map, and ordered the commission to redraw it by Feb. 6.

“Petitioners have also shown through testimony and empirical data that the history of discrimination against minority voters in CD-11 still impacts those communities," Pearlman wrote in his 18-page ruling. He later added it was “clear to the court that the current district lines of CD-11 are a contributing factor in the lack of representation for minority voters.”

Malliotakis told the New York Times that she is reviewing the judge's ruling and considering options to protect her constituents, which could include an appeal of the order.

“Nothing changes the fact that this is a frivolous attempt by Washington Democrats to steal this congressional seat from the people, and we are very confident that we will prevail at the end of the day," she added.

The ruling comes as a major redistricting battle sweeps the country ahead of the midterm elections in November, which was intended to help Republicans keep the majority in the House and offset previous alleged racial gerrymandering. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.