This week- Parties Suggest Mapping Remedies to Judge in Congressional challenge; Governor Hochul Supports State Census Action; NY County Election Commissioners Legislative Agenda; February 3rd Redistricting CLE; Around the Nation- California, Virginia
Voting is the foundation stone for political action.
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
LITIGATION
Congressional Redistricting
Williams et. al v. New York State Board of Elections et. al
Following several days of hearings on this congressional district challenge pending before the state supreme court in New York County, four documents were filed with the court on January 12th, including the Democratic petitioners’ memorandum of law regarding a remedial map if they prevail.
Petitioners request that the Court declare the 2024 Congressional map unconstitutional, stop the state respondents from using the 2024 map in the 2026 and future elections, and allow for the state legislature to adopt a new map that remedies the dilution of Black and Latino voters in CD-11.
First, the petitioners argue that the 2024 Congressional map should be found unconstitutional because the map unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of Black and Latino voters in CD-11.
Second, the petitioners request the court to stop the respondents from using the 2024 map in future elections, which they argue is an acceptable remedy. Further, petitioners argue there is adequate time to remedy the congressional map before the 2026 election.
Third, the petitioners argue that under Article III, Section 5 of the New York Constitution, the legislature should have a “full and reasonable opportunity” to redraw the congressional map based on precedent. Further, petitioners contend that the Court does not need to order the legislature to adopt the illustrative map they presented in their briefings.
In the alternative, petitioners propose that the Court should remand the matter to the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) for further proceedings or appoint a special master, although this is not their preferred remedy.
One of the Republican respondents, Raymond J. Riley III, in his official capacity as Co-Executive Director of the New York State Board of Elections, filed an affirmation with the court stating that to prepare for the contingency of a new map for the 2026 election, the map must be completed by February 6th to allow sufficient time to either implement that map or the current map at the conclusion of the litigation.
Counsel for the Republican State Board of Elections respondents, Peter S. Kosinski, Anthony J. Casale, and Raymond J. Riley III, filed a memorandum of law regarding available remedies, arguing that the Court cannot compel the legislature to enact petitioners’ redistricting plan.
First, these respondents argue that the petitioners’ request for the legislature to draw a map specifically pairing Staten Island and lower Manhattan is a violation of the separation of powers principle. Second, these respondents argue that the only lawful remedies available are those delineated in Harkenrider and Hoffmann cases, which held that a court may order the adoption of a redistricting plan with the assistance of a neutral “special master” and that the IRC process is the preferred judicial remedy.
Third, respondents argue that any remedial map ordered by the Court under Harkenrider must be completed by February 6, or in accordance with Hoffmann the Court must direct the IRC to reconvene and propose a map to the legislature for the 2028 election cycle.
The Harkenrider court appointed a special master to draw the congressional map in 2022 after the commission and legislature failed to complete their mapping tasks. The Hoffmann court directed the commission and legislature to get back to work and compete the congressional mapping for the 2024 election, resulting in the current congressional map approved by the legislature.
Counsel for the intervenor Republican respondents filed a memorandum of law regarding the proper remedy. They argue that if the Court were to find that CD-11 unconstitutionally violates the New York Constitution, then the remedies should be either 1) expeditiously adopting its own map by early February, with the help of a special master as ordered in the Harkenrider case; or 2) await the 2028 election cycle because of “petitioners’ unexplained delay in filing this lawsuit” and follow the Hoffmann case, permitting the IRC to reconfigure CD-11.
The case now awaits a decision from Justice Jeffrey Pearlman.
CENSUS
Governor Hochul Announces Support for State Census 2020 Initiative
In her State of the State message last week, Governor Hochul included support for a Census 2030 effort that marks the first time that the state will begin organizing well before census planning got underway in past decades.
The Governor will provide details on her proposals later today and we will provide an update in next week’s update. The proposal parallels a bill pending in the Senate and Assembly (A.5864- Solages/S.6898-Cooney) that creates a state census assistance office and a complete count commission, making it more inevitable that the state will begin moving forward on the census later this year.
From the Governor’s message:
“The decennial census is the foundation of New York’s political representation and federal funding. Following the 2020 Census, the state lost a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives by a margin of only 89 residents—one of the narrowest margins in history. Undercounting New York residents directly impacts the State’s influence in Washington, and risks our fair share of the billions of dollars in federal aid that support our roads, bridges, hospitals and schools, as well as vital programs that families depend on such as Medicaid, SNAP, and WIC.
As the federal government signals a shift in responsibility for census operations to the states, Governor Hochul will kick off the census planning process early, ensuring New York secures its fair share of federal resources and every community is accurately represented in Albany and Washington for the decade to come. She will take proactive steps to ensure that all New Yorkers–including historically hard-to-count populations such as low-income residents, children under five, and renters—are fully represented. Specifically, she will:
- Establish a state census commission responsible for strategic planning, coordination, and community outreach
- Identify a lead planner for the state to drive planning efforts and coordinate work across agencies
- Call on agencies and community-based organizations to lead public education efforts and build trust, especially in hard-to-count neighborhoods
- Support counties, cities, townships and tribal governments, to update the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA), ensuring every residence is accurately mapped. In 2020, LUCA efforts ensured more than 800,00.”
LEGISLATION
2026 NYS Elections Commissioner Association Democratic Caucus Legislative Priorities
From information provided by Dustin Czarny, Commissioner, Onondaga County Board of Elections
Every year the Democratic Caucus of the NYS Elections Commissioner Association identify a list of legislative and budget priorities to present to legislative and executive leaders in New York to make better voter experience and make election administration better. The Caucus denotes the current bill numbers, legislative status, and whether this is a shared goal of the GOP caucus of NYSECA or the NYS Board of Elections.
Give Boards of Elections the ability to properly serve the voters of New York.
- Four-year terms for all boards of elections commissioners. (S2050/A7289) (Bi-partisan support)
- Minimum staffing requirements set based on voter enrollment for full-time permanent employees for each Board of Election. (S843/A6069)
- Require all Commissioners in New York outside of the City of New York to be full time commissioners (S1087/A5056)
- Support Mandatory Training and certification for Commissioner and Deputies. (S1035/A1228) (Bi-partisan support) (NYSBOE support)
- Mandate County nominations for Commissioners occur no later than the party reorganization meeting or October 15th in years where a reorganization meeting does not occur. (Bi-partisan support)
Since 2019, long awaited election reform has changed local Boards of Elections responsibilities without making the structural changes necessary for each county board to meet the needs of their voters. Making these changes will allow County Commissioners the ability to strategically plan and bring year-round full-time management to the Board of Elections in every county. We also support making training and certification for all Elections Commissioners and deputies to ensure professional operations of each Board of Elections. We also must ensure proper transitions when new Elections Commissioners are elected, so we should limit late calendar nominations that can cause chaos on the political calendar.
Invest in our election system by providing the following funding streams in the New York State Budget.
- Aid to localities funding of $35 million for distribution to County Board of Elections of unbudgeted expenses. (Bi-partisan support)
- Properly fund the New York State Board of Elections and give the NYSBOE proper authority to promulgate regulations and enforce responsibilities outlined in state law. (NYSBOE support) (Bi-partisan support)
The cost of running elections is mainly the responsibility of county governments. With the added responsibilities that the NYS Legislature has required of Board of Elections we have rising costs due to increase staffing and equipment purchases. Each county has different needs. We believe a single annual Aid to Locality grant replacing the various postage, equipment, and staffing grants is the best way for New York to meet is obligation to help county boards properly operate. We also support the NYS Board of Elections in their budget request to meet the increased regulatory and functionality they are required to provide.
Provide flexibility for County Board of Election operations.
- Allow for flexibility for designating non-enrolled inspectors to serve as Republican or Democratic inspectors. (Bi-partisan support)
- Grant county Election Commissioners independence and flexibility with respect to determining hours of operation. (Bi-partisan support)
- Altering the highest municipality early voting law to lower the highest city threshold to at least 10,000 voters. (Bi-partisan support)
County Board of Elections need flexibility to meet the modern needs of the electorate. Each individual county has different needs. Allowing the county boards flexibility in designating election inspectors can help in rural and urban communities. Boards of Elections often need to operate at different hours than their county hosts. They also need flexibility in selecting Early Voting sites that are more suitable for their counties.
Reform the Automatic Hand Count to work more efficiently.
- Reduce the threshold for triggering recounts in close elections to .25% and allow for alternative scan within the .25-50% range, while also reducing the minimum vote threshold to ten. (Bi-partisan support) (S3290/A1091)
- Exempt all party position contests from the manual hand count including judicial delegate and county committee contests. (NYSBOE support) (Bi-partisan support)
- Allow candidates with less votes to opt out of a hand count. (Bi-partisan support)
The automatic hand-count has been in place for several election cycles. We have learned that the precinct scanners are accurate. Lowering the threshold for the hand-count will allow the Board of Elections to only focus on the truly close races that have a chance of changing hands. We must also stipulate that the hand-count should only start after initial certification allowing boards to properly prepare and sort ballots for counting. We should exempt party positions from the hand count rule as these elections are routinely close but not close enough to switch winners and draw resources away from publicly held offices. Finally, we can also give candidates with lesser votes the options to bypass the hand count if they don’t wish to participate.
Enhance our Ballot Access laws to provide protections for parties and to give access to candidates.
- Extend the General Election Post Primary drop off date until after the certification of the June Primary or last day to caucus for town races. (Bi-partisan support)
- Extend the enrollment change freeze window beyond the last day for caucus. (NYSBOE support) (Bi-partisan support)
- Protect Town Caucus from party raiding by requiring party authorization for candidates not enrolled in a party to receive designation.
- Allow county parties to have direct ballot access with their nomination process outside of NYC (Bi-partisan support) (S7401/A583)
- Encourage legislation denoting that all public offices within the state of New York be referred to in gender neutral terms on Primary and General election ballots. (Bi-partisan support)
Our ballot access laws need modern protections and adjustments to ensure competitive and free elections. Over the last few cycles, we have seen an increase in those wanting to exploit some weaknesses in some ballot access functions to steal party lines. We urge the legislature to close these loopholes by extending the party change deadline until after the last day of caucus and to protect caucus from party raiding in the same way we do other ballot access methods. With the new calendar that pushes petitioning earlier we urge the legislature to give county parties the ability to have direct ballot access in the same way state parties have. Lastly, we encourage the legislature to pass legislation to refer to all elected offices in New York gender neutral terms.
Enhance and invest in our Vote by Mail options
- Design a uniform paper and online application and oath envelope for all Vote by Mail options in New York including military and overseas voters.
- Allow County Board of Elections the option to continue to scan vote by mail ballots during the Early Voting Period (Bi-partisan support)
- Authorize the issuing of same-day absentee ballots in those instances when commissioners agree that health-related exigencies on or immediately prior to Election Day create hardship. (Bi-partisan support) (NYSBOE support)
One of the fastest growing methods of voting in New York is vote by mail. We should build upon this success. Voters should be presented with a uniform application for both Absentee and Vote by Mail so voters can [properly choose the method right for them. We also want county Board of Elections to have an option to scan vote by mail ballots during the Early Voting period if the Board of elections has the resources to do so. Finally, we would like the ability for Elections Commissioners to issue emergency same-day absentee ballots for health-related emergencies on election Day.
Emphasize the importance of Election Day on the State and National Level
- Designation of Election Day as a non-attendance day for public school students. (Bi-partisan support) (A2041) (NYSBOE support) (Bi-partisan support)
- Support a Federal Holiday on Election Day (Bi-partisan support)
New York State and the Federal Government have the ability to place an importance on Election Day and should do so. Mandating a non-student attendance day throughout New York will not only ensure the availability of public buildings that are HAVA compliant for voters. A federal holiday will go even further, freeing up public workers for use as inspectors as well as giving voters the freedom to take part in our Democracy.
Strengthen our Boards of Elections and our Democracy by enacting these reforms
- Support of the Democracy During Detention Act.
- Allow for Vote Centers on Election Day as well as Early Voting on a permissive basis. (Bi-partisan support) (S569/A6449)
- All Election Inspectors should be paid at least minimum wage for hours worked throughout New York State. (Bi-partisan support)
- Allow elected officials to act as Election Inspectors upon bi-partisan agreement of the Board of Elections Commissioners (Bi-partisan support)
- Repeal sections of 4-118, 4-119, 4-120 and 4-122 election law eliminating the requirement to publish legal ads prior to each election (Bi-partisan support)
- In favor of proposing a statewide comprehensive voter registration and election management system with input from counties and stakeholders funded by New York State.
These reforms will allow Boards of Elections to operate more efficiently and focus on serving voters. Bringing Democracy to all citizens through the Democracy During Detention Act is an important next step in the reforms we have embarked on in New York since 2019. Allowing vote centers on Election Day is a more efficient way to allow voters to participate. Establishing a minimum wage for inspectors will help recruiting. Giving the Boards flexibility to allow public officials to serve as inspectors when needed can help fill inspector roles. Repealing outdated publishing laws will save money while reducing workloads at County boards. Finally a state-wide voter registration system paid for by NY State will save county dollars while increasing efficiently throughout New York State.
VOTING RIGHTS ACT
N.Y. Attorney General’s Office Preclearance
981- New York City Board of Elections- granted
This submission relates to a proposed Early Voting poll site change in Queens County affecting the 36th Assembly District Special Election scheduled for Tuesday, February 3, 2026, as called by the Governor on Friday, January 2, 2026,
All submissions can be viewed at: https://nyvra-portal.ag.ny.gov/
UPCOMING EVENTS
Tuesday, February 3rd from 6:00 to 8:00 PM
Mid-Decade Redistricting and New York Reforms – New York Law School will sponsor a CLE class on redistricting reform, including presentations on mid-decade redistricting and what’s could be expected to happen in New York during the 2026 state legislative session. Speakers include New York Law School’s Jeff WIce, Brennan Center Vice President Kareem Crayton and Jonathan Cervas of Carnegie Mellion University (special master for the court in the 2022 congressional and state senate remapping).
Two New York State CLE credits will be provided to participants. There is no fee to view the program. You can register here: https://nyls.wufoo.com/forms/q17dd6is1cw54v4/
AROUND THE NATION
CALIFORNIA:A 3-judge federal court panel has declined to issue a preliminary injunction preventing the use of California’s new congressional map in the 2026 elections, which was approved by 64% of voters via Proposition 50 in a November special election. The legal challenge, brought by the California Republican Party and the U.S. Department of Justice, alleged that the map constituted racial gerrymandering by disproportionately favoring Latino voting power. After a three-day preliminary injunction hearing, however, the court rejected these claims in a 2-1 ruling, with the majority opinion concluding that the map was a “political gerrymander” rather than a racially motivated one. Read the opinion.
This development is part of a broader mid-decade redistricting effort triggered by national political tensions. Governor Gavin Newsom advocated for the new map to “fight fire with fire” following Republican-led redistricting efforts in states such as Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina. While the court denied an immediate injunction to block the map, the Republican plaintiffs have filed a motion for an injunction pending an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The outcome of this and similar redistricting maneuvers in states like Virginia and Florida will be critical in determining the balance of power in the U.S. House of Representatives leading into the 2026 midterm elections.
VIRGINIA: The Virginia House of Delegates and State Senate have completed action on a constitutional amendment to send to voters for approval in the Spring. The amendment would permit the state legislature to redraw the state’ congressional map before the 2026 elections. While no map has been released to date, the new map is expected to eliminate 2026 electoral opportunities for several Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation
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 Jeffrey.wice@nyls.edu
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 and Michelle Davis (redistrictingonline.org)