This week:
New York’s Mid-Decade Redistricting Advances; Reapportionment vs. Redistricting- What’s the Difference?; CUNY Mapping Service Updates Online Maps; Menin Appoints Wice to NYC Campaign Finance Board; Working Families Party Challenges Candidates; Even Year Election Voting for Cities Amendment Passed by Legislature; New Judicial Districts Legislation Passed by Legislature; Election Law Reforms Passed by Legislature; Voting Rights Act Preclearance; SCOTUS Allows Alabama to Use Map with One Minority District; Around the Nation
REDISTRICTING
New York’s Mid-Decade Redistricting & Commission Reforms Passed by Legislature
The Assembly and Senate approved legislation moving forward a constitutional amendment to reform New York’s redistricting process last week (S.10637/A.11553).
If approved again by the new legislature elected in November the amendment will have go to the voters for approval in late 2027.
The amendment’s most significant features permit mid-decade congressional redistricting, provide for simple majority vote map approvals in both chambers, and limits the state Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) to holding hearings and produce one set of congressional, senate, and assembly maps to send to the legislature by January 15 in the second year of each decade.
New Redistricting Changes:
– Deadlines: IRC must submit maps by January 15th in the second year of each decade. If no maps are submitted or if legislature fails to approve the maps, the legislature shall draw maps (with implementing legislation) and send them to the governor for approval. No further action by the IRC is provided, eliminating the need for a second set of commission maps for the legislature to consider.
-Majority Votes: the Senate and Assembly can approve maps subject to majority votes, eliminating the need for voting majorities based on divided-party chamber control.
-Mid-decade redistricting: the legislature is provided with the authority to redraw congressional districts at any time during the decade following approval or rejection of the commission’s map.
-Criteria: the criteria that was considered mandatory would instead be factors that can be considered by the IRC and legislature and not required.
-Criteria (minority voting rights) maps shall not be drawn with the purpose of denying racial or language groups with less opportunity to elect representatives of their choice based on the totality of the circumstances, eliminating any “results” test. W
-Criteria: (compactness) districts need not be as compact as might be practicable.
-Criteria (removes ban on partisan gerrymandering) districts can be drawn without taking into consideration whether they discourage competition or favoring or disfavoring incumbents, candidates, or political parties.
-Criteria (Senate block-on-border) eliminates state senate “block on border” restrictions (previously removed from Assembly requirements in the 2014 amendment) permitting more flexibility to meet other mapping requirements
Criteria- the amendment drops the criteria that new maps maintain the cores of pre-existing districts or pre-existing political subdivisions, including counties, towns and cities.
-Remedial redistricting: the IRC will not be required to draw new maps after courts order changes based on any legal violations
State Legislative Authority: In the event a state court invalidates a congressional redistricting map, the legislature shall have the power to draw a remedial map. State courts shall not order the drawing of a congressional map unless the legislature fails to do so first.
Note that all maps approved by the legislature are still subject to approval by the Governor.
Unchanged Provisions:
-the IRC shall continue to hold at least12 hearings across the state in designated counties before preparing a map to send to the legislature
-the IRC will continue to have 10 members who are appointed by the legislative leaders (8 members) and 2 selected by the 8 legislative appointees
-the IRC map for the senate and assembly will be voted on by the legislature in one bill that can also include the congressional map.
-the IRC’s internal voting requirements remain intact as well as all other responsibilities assigned to it, including the ability to retain staff
Voting Rights Groups Oppose Amendment
LatinoJustice PRLDEF, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, The Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, and the Legal Defense Fund, long-time civil rights organizations who are members of the New York Voting Rights Consortium issued the following statement in response of the New York State Senate and Assembly passage of bill S10637, a constitutional amendment that would significantly expand legislative control over redistricting and eliminate key protections against gerrymandering amongst other changes.
Statement by New York Voting Rights Consortium:
“Our coalition has grave concerns about the New York State Legislature passage of a redistricting reform bill. This proposed constitutional amendment would strip critical civil rights protections from voters of color and make other unnecessary and sweeping changes to New York’s redistricting framework, removing longstanding safeguards that ensure fair representation for all New Yorkers. At a time when attacks on voting rights and our multiracial democracy are accelerating across the country, New York should be strengthening protections against discrimination, not joining the U.S. Supreme Court in dismantling them.
“The proposal would replace the results test’, a legal standard in force since 2014, that asks if a new voting map unfairly limits opportunities for voters of color to elect candidates of their choice, regardless of the legislature’s intent. These changes would make it substantially more difficult for voters and communities to challenge maps that dilute the voting strength of Black, Latino, Asian American, Indigenous, and other historically marginalized communities. It is particularly troubling that these changes are being pushed by those who have traditionally supported protecting these communities.
“We are already seeing the disastrous results of the Supreme Court’s abandonment of voting rights for Black and other communities in Louisiana, Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama. New York must not follow suit on removing protections for voters of color, let alone lead the way. This proposal needlessly results in a dismantling of critical statewide protections for voters of color. Our organizations remain committed to working alongside impacted communities to mobilize against these efforts to allow gerrymandering fervor to drive our elections. We continue to support constitutional and legislative protections for all voters in New York and across our country. We will make every effort to oppose discriminatory districting schemes and, and to continue to support constitutional and legislative protections for all voters in New York and across our country.”
In addition to the voting rights groups, Citizens Union and Reinvent Albany have noted their opposition to the amendment.
Reapportionment vs. Redistricting- What’s the Difference?
Readers often ask about the difference between reapportionment and redistricting. The new constitutional amendment even uses reapportionment in two places where redistricting should have been used.
Reapportionment is the process of dividing fixed resources—specifically the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives—among the 50 states based on population changes.
Redistricting is the subsequent process of physically redrawing the geographic boundaries within those states to ensure each district contains a roughly equal number of residents.
So, the U.S. House of Representatives gets reapportioned based on state population totals after each federal decennial census. The state’s 26 congressional districts, 63 Senate districts, and 150 Assembly districts get redistricted.
CUNY Mapping Service Updates Maps
The CUNY Graduate Center’s Mapping Service has been updating the U.S. version of Redistricting & You with new “mid-decade” district plans (with support from the Fair Representation in Redistricting).
Here’s the main link, where you’ll see a popup list of all the nine states that have adopted new congressional districts in 2025 and 2026, including Louisiana which we added today: https://us.redistrictingandyou.org/
Click on a state name and the map will zoom to the state (such as this link for California) and you can compare the newest lines with the immediately-prior district plan as well as the post-2010 districts.
For all the states that have not yet (but plan to ) redistricted mid-decade, you can compare the post-2020 districts with the post-2010 lines.
ELECTIONS
Speaker Menin Appoints Jeff Wice to N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Board
In New York City, City Council Speaker Julie Menin appointed New York Law School’s Professor Jeff Wice to serve as a member of the city’s 5 member Campaign Finance Board.
Wice replaces attorney Richard David, a member of the board since 2009.
The Campaign Finance Board The Finance Board is an independent, nonpartisan New York City agency tasked with administering the city’s public campaign financing system and provides campaign finance and candidate information to voters. It enforces the N.Y.C. Campaign Finance Act, audits campaigns for compliance, administers the public matching funds program for city offices, and provides voter outreach and education programs through its NYC Votes program.
State Working Families Party vs. Voters in Rockland County
On Monday, June 1 the New York State Working Families Party (WFP) filed a challenge in state supreme court to disenroll a group of 20 voters in Rockland County.
The WFP argues that these voters enrolled in the WFP in bad faith as a tactical maneuver through social media activity, contributions to candidates who criticized or opposed the principles of the WFP, and/or campaign activity to undermine candidates designated by WFP members, in an apparent attempt to help opposing candidates in the General Election.
This petition for disenrollment is permitted through new state election law, where a political party can remove an enrolled voter or candidate because they are determined to be “out of sympathy” with the party’s platform.
The WFP seeks a judicial order directing the Rockland County Board of Elections to purge these voters from WFP voter rolls, removing their ability to vote in the WFP primaries or sign WFP nominating petitions.
Even Year Election Bill for Cities & Local Constitutional Officials Outside NYC
On Thursday, June 4, S.5711, sponsored by Senator James Skoufis (D-Orange), passed the Senate and Assembly. The bill, proposed as a constitutional amendment, requires certain elections to take place in even-numbered years for certain municipal and judicial officials except in the city of New York.
The bill gives the Legislature the authority to enact laws creating temporary, altered terms of office so that the subsequent seat cycle naturally lands on an even year.
The argument for this bill is that holding off-year elections leads to voter confusion and exhaustion resulting in low voter turnout. By aligning them with majority federal and state elections there will be peak democratic participation and lower administrative costs for running separate county-wide elections.
The bill will go up for a vote again next year and to the voters in late 2027
LEGISLATION
State Legislature Approved New Judicial Districts
The state legislature has approved legislation (S./A. ) to create three new state judicial districts, including one consisting solely of Erie County. Sponsored by Assembly Member Jonathan Rivera, (D-Erie), and Deputy Senate Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, (D-Queens), the legislation also makes Monroe and Onondaga counties their own judicial districts. The proposal will go to Governor Hochul for approval.
The legislation creating new judicial districts passed in both houses last year, but was opposed by state court leaders and the Governor did not act, resulting in a pocket veto.
During Assembly floor debate, Assemblyman Rivera indicated that the new districts were being created, in part, due to a lack of diversity on the bench.
“I would say, statistically, that’s still going to be the truth,” Rivera said, answering a question from Assembly Member Paul Bologna, (R-Erie) “It’s clear that Monroe, Onondaga and Erie make up the majority of the ethnic diversity in the region. But I’d also say the interests of those communities should be heard just as much as folks who live in Allegany and Steuben and Livingston. I’m happy that this accomplishes all those things.” Rivera also mentioned that the judicial district lines were last delineated in 1847.
Session dominated by Delayed Budget Process Closes With Some Major Election Law Changes, But Lawmakers Leave Many Pressing Issues Unaddressed
In the final days of the 2026 legislative session, Albany lawmakers also passed a few major election law changes that will take effect ahead of the midterms. But despite wide support for many existing proposals from lawmakers in both chambers, as well as the last-minute introduction of several new proposals to reform the election law or shore up election processes to meet evolving threats to American democracy, many were left on the cutting room floor in one or both chambers as the state reps departed for the year. Voting bills that passed both houses include:
S4602B / A5846B: The Let NY Vote Coalition-supported ‘Time Extender for Significant Election Disruptions’ passed both houses on the final day of session. The measure provides a first-in-the-nation equitable voter protection remedy that requires local bipartisan election officials to extend the time for balloting at impacted polling places if a complete disruption to voting lasts more than one hour. The administrative safeguard places the law on the side of voters residing in impacted districts or communities, restoring the lost time for voting without the need for expensive, time-consuming and often elusive litigation. Running to court for same-day emergency relief remains available for shorter stoppages and serves as a backstop to protect the rights at stake, but need not be the first and only avenue for relief. The bill, enacted in response to several unaddressed lengthy disruptions occurring at the polls around the state during recent elections improves uniformity, election resiliency and accountability, clarifying the incident-escalation process to ensure major suppression incidents are documented with the State Board of Elections and Attorney General. In addition, the new law requires that key stakeholders like candidates, campaigns, and local media are notified in a timely manner, combating misinformation and improving their ability to mobilize impacted voters to turnout despite the disruption.
Recent unaddressed major election disruptions include in 2022 on the final Sunday of early voting in the competitive contest between Governor Hochul and Rep. Zeldin, a bomb threat targeting the Jackie Robinson Complex in East Harlem deprived communities of at least two hours of voting while NYPD cleared the sole polling place assigned to tens of thousands of voters. In the 2023 General Election, a countywide technology issue in Orange County reportedly blocked voting at all eight vote centers, the last of which took an hour and a half to repair. Days later, an emergency lockdown was triggered on Election Day at Oneida’s MVCC college campus poll site due to a person with a gun. On Election Day 2024, an Ithaca voter accidentally drove a car into a poll site, disrupting balloting for 87 minutes. Last, during the 2022 primary, an electrical fire disrupted voting at a poll site in Jefferson County.
S10639 / A11557: Authorizes the legislature to draft the language that will be used to describe proposed state constitutional amendments placed on the ballot for approval or rejection by voters, including the consequence of a yes or no vote. Currently that task involves input from the Attorney General, but the authority rests with the bipartisan State Board of Elections, which must agree on and set the ballot text, in accordance with prescribed ‘plain language’ standards (see EL § 4-108). This bill permits the legislature (or at least it’s majorities) to draft its own plain language description of an amendment. The legislature drafts and advances the proposed amendments, and proponents argue that the legislature, which is most representative of the will of the people, is better placed to draft the description of the amendment that voters will vote on. The move is a bitter pill for the minority party, which holds roughly a third of legislative seats in Albany, but continues to enjoy outsized structural power and influence at the bipartisan-appointed state and local boards of elections.
S5138B / A1566: requires boards of elections to include conspicuous language beneath the signature line on mail ballot affirmation envelopes reminding voters to sign. This will help ensure that otherwise-valid ballots are not disqualified, and reduce the volume of ballots that need to go through the ‘opportunity to cure’ process (see EL § 9-209(3)), saving precious funds and votes.
S1809 / A8388: permits boards of elections to hire full-time college students as poll workers in the election district where their colleges are located, even if the student is registered to vote elsewhere in New York, expanding the pool of eligible younger potential poll workers. New recruitment avenues are vital to well-functioning poll sites because many current inspectors are senior citizens and will retire soon. In addition, well-trained younger poll workers may be more acquainted with the new technologies being layered into election administration, as the state continues to modernize voting processes. Finally, the bill advances the broader policy goal that voters in a cohesive community (including a college or campus setting) are being served by poll workers who are familiar with, and part of, the community.
S9671A / A10960: Requires boards of elections to notify victims of domestic violence–who have their registration details maintained as confidential–six months prior to the expiration of the confidentiality of their records, so these voters have the opportunity to renew the protection prior to expiration.
S6253A / A6741A: directs the state board of elections to publish a searchable database online allowing voters to access sample ballots at least twelve days prior to the first day of early voting.
Finally, in the Public Protection and General Government budget bill enacted in late May (PPGG, Parts C and E, L.2026, Ch.55), the legislature designated locations hosting poll sites as protected “sensitive locations” under the civil rights law, authorizing these facilities to adopt policies that deny access to any portion of the sensitive location not accessible to the general public to persons engaged in immigration enforcement, unless facility operators are presented with a federal court order or warrant. In addition, the budget bill restricts state entities or employees–like election officials or poll workers–from granting or facilitating access to poll sites by immigration authorities engaged in immigration enforcement, where doing so would violate certain federal statutes prohibiting, inter alia, the deployment of troops at the polls (e.g., 18 §§ U.S.C. 592, 595, 52 U.S.C. § 10307(b)) or violate the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, absent a federal court order or warrant.
Several other key election bills introduced in the final days of session, and several existing bills championed by the Election Chairs in each chamber, or supported by voting advocates also failed to pass before lawmakers departed. Those include:
S8615 / A11324: Carried by Senate Election Chair Gonzalez, this bill would create an election security navigator program at the State Board of Elections to provide technical assistance, training, and coordination for local boards of elections in preparing for and mitigating cyber, physical, operational, and informational threats to election infrastructure;
S6995 / A8310 Carried by Senate Election Chair Gonzalez, would harmonize New York’s parallel early mail ballot and absentee ballot processes and improve procedures for military and special federal voters. The measure would allow election officials to use the same envelopes for both types of ballots, saving printing costs; would protect a registered voter who submits an absentee ballot application that is otherwise complete, but the voter fails to indicate a reason that they are entitled to an absentee ballot, so it is processed as an early mail ballot application; and, would allow registered voters applying for an early mail ballot to request a ballot for all elections in a two-year election cycle, preventing the need for election officials to process these additional requests, among other cleanups.
S10599 Carried by Senate Election Chair Gonzalez, would direct that election officials or employees who receives a subpoena, warrant or other request for or to inspect election materials, equipment or non-public records must first provide notice to the state board of elections and the attorney general, and permits the attorney general to seek injunctions or other equitable relief;
S440A / A2121A: Carried by Assembly Chair Walker and Former Senate Elections Chair Myrie, twould enact the Democracy During Detention Act. The proposal would establish a flexible, modern voter access framework for eligible citizens detained in corrections facilities across the state, ensures that New Yorkers detained pre-trial and presumed innocent (or serving for misdemeanors) can effectively register and vote, clarifying the role of Boards of Elections in administering voter registration and access to the ballot, in coordination with and cooperation from correction officials. DDDA authorizes poll sites in jails, expands on the bipartisan absentee ballot collection program already in place for other populous congregate facilities (see EL § 8-407 and proposed EL § 8-415); and affirmatively codifies the right of eligible justice-involved voters to effectively access and exercise the franchise.
S3233A / A6354A: Carried by Assembly Chair Walker, the voter protection would insulate voters and election boards from certain pernicious practices that abuse the law’s integrity safeguards. If enacted, non-election officials or vigilante political operatives who insist on challenging a voter’s eligibility at the polls would be required to sign an affidavit identifying themselves and their employer, the basis for the eligibility challenge, and the provenance of the information underlying the challenge if not based on personal knowledge.
S10126 / A9314: Introduced by Senator Bailey in the final days of session, this bill would prohibit local boards of elections from purchasing direct recording electronic machines that lack a paper trail and requires local boards of elections to provide hand marking and ballot marking device options at all polling places.
A11485: Deems all ballots mailed to the board of elections postmarked not later than election day to have been received by the board of elections before the close of the polls on election day for non-federal elections.
S10563 / A11486: Provides notice and advice to mail voters regarding the timeliness of the receipt by the board of elections, encouraging them to return their ballots as soon as possible by any approved method, including alternative methods besides mail services.
S10610 / A5804: Would allow New Yorkers who have missed the deadlines for voter registration to complete a ‘conditional’ registration and cast an affidavit ballot which would then be counted if the voter is found to be eligible by the bipartisan board of elections.
S10618 / A11530: Prohibits members of the military or armed government presence at polls from interfering with elections. Federal officials who commit crimes can be immune from state criminal prosecution only if the official’s actions were authorized and “necessary and proper” in fulfilling federal duties. This bill would have clarified that the same actions punishable as criminal offenses under federal statutes will also be punishable as a state crime.
S10649 / A11548: Provides that immediate injunctive relief, restraining orders, or cease and desist orders may be sought in cases involving voter intimidation, deception or obstruction that affects the right of voters to access the elective franchise, under the NYVRA.
Other priorities of the statewide Let NY Vote Coalition, like the Student Voter Empowerment Act and VIVA NY advanced out of committee but ultimately stalled and will need to be reintroduced and renumbered when the new legislature is sworn in in January. Many of the 2026 NYSECA Legislative Priorities championed by the respective caucuses of local election officials met a similar fate.
N.Y. VOTING RIGHTS ACT PRECLEARANCE
N.Y. Attorney General’s Office Preclearance
1521 Suffolk County Board of Elections- poll site locations- under review
1561 Onondaga County Board of Elections- poll site locations- preliminarily granted
1424 New York City Board of Elections- poll site locations (Queens)- partially granted
1481 New York City Board of Elections (Kings County)- poll site locations- under review
All submissions can be viewed at: https://nyvra-portal.ag.ny.gov/
POST CALLAIS REDISTRICTING: ALABAMA
Supreme Court’s Emergency Order Restores Alabama’s 2023 Congressional Map
The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing Alabama to use a congressional map favoring Republicans in this year’s elections, blocking a lower court ruling that the map intentionally discriminates against Black voters. The justices granted the state’s emergency appeal to use a map it adopted in 2023 that has a majority-Black population in just one of its seven congressional districts. The three liberal justices dissented. The ruling takes effect immediately, meaning Alabama will use its 2023 map for its August 11 special primary elections covering the affected congressional districts.
Unlike many shadow docket orders, the majority provided some explanation in an unsigned per curiam opinion. The majority’s core holding was that the lower district court “did not heed the presumption of legislative good faith,” the same standard the majority had invoked in Callais, when it inferred that Alabama intended to racially discriminate solely because the state declined to draw a second majority-Black district.
The majority cited Callais directly, using its April 29 precedent as the primary vehicle for overriding the district court’s intentional discrimination finding. “Under Callais, the District Court was required to deny relief unless the plaintiff’s alternative map performed “just as well” with respect to all of the State’s constitutionally permissible districting criteria.” The majority reasoned that a state’s insistence on pursuing partisan goals in the face of an earlier Section 2 ruling does not by itself establish racially discriminatory intent, but some observers say this effectively creates a near-irrebuttable presumption of legislative good faith in redistricting cases.
Justice Sotomayor’s dissent – joined by Kagan and Jackson – argued that the court was “being presented with a choice: it can use its equitable authority to fix the mess it has created, or it can use that same authority to deepen it further,” calling the majority’s action a reward for Alabama’s deliberate defiance of court orders.
AROUND THE NATION
From The Redistrict Network (@RedistrictNet)
June 1: The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear an appeal of a lawsuit seeking to redraw the state’s congressional map after a lower court dismissed the case in April.
The challengers are asking the justices to send the case back to the lower court for a trial on their claims. — @RedistrictNet [from X]
June 2: A three-judge federal panel has scheduled a June 17 hearing to determine whether Louisiana’s new congressional map complies with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais.
Plaintiffs argue the replacement map still relies too heavily on race, potentially putting Louisiana’s last remaining majority-Black district at risk. — @RedistrictNet [from X]
June 2: In a shadow docket ruling, SCOTUS allows Alabama to use its 2023 congressional map (with only one Black-majority district). The 3 liberals dissent.
Members of the public can view the map in Dave’s Redistricting here: — @RedistrictNet [from X]
June 3: The state of Washington is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to accept a challenge to the state’s legislative maps and remand the case to a lower court to determine whether the maps comply with the Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais. — @RedistrictNet [from X]
June 5: The Florida Supreme Court has ordered the state to respond to an emergency petition seeking to temporarily block the state’s new congressional map. — @RedistrictNet [from X]
INSTITUTE RESOURCES
The New York Elections, Census and Redistricting Institute has archived many resources for the public to view on our Digital Commons Page.
Our Redistricting Resources page contains resources on the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. You can access the page here: https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/redistricting_resources/
Archived Updates can be accessed here: https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/redistricting_roundtable_updates/
Please share this weekly update with your colleagues. To be added to the mailing list, please contact [email protected]
The N.Y. Elections, Census & Redistricting Institute is supported by grants from the New York Community Trust, New York Census Equity Fund, the Mellon Foundation, and the New York City Council. This report was prepared by Jeff Wice, Esha Shah, Jarret Berg, Michelle Davis of Redistricting Online & Jason Fierman of @RedistrictNet.