Voters appeal New York redistricting case ordering state commission to redraw district lines

A group of New York voters on Tuesday appealed a recent court decision that determined the state's Independent Redistricting Commission should have attempted to redraw the congressional maps after the legislature rejected its original drafts in 2022.

Earlier this month, New York appellate court Justice Peter Lynch ordered the IRC to begin drawing new maps. The commission had submitted a pair of proposals in 2022, which the legislature rejected in favor of their own plans that favored the Democrats. Steuben County State Supreme Court Judge Patrick McAllister subsequently struck those down on and ordered a special master to draw new districts, which became the ones used in the 2022 midterms.

The voter block is appealing Lynch's order that the IRC submit a new congressional map, The Hill reported. 

After the special master drew the 2022 maps, Republicans managed to make considerable gains in the Empire State's House delegation, contributing substantially to the narrow Republican majority in the lower chamber.

The original challenge that resulted in Lynch's order was a Democratic-led effort that argued the state constitution required that the IRC get another chance to draw the lines.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.