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Assembly votes to send redistricting overhaul to voters after heated debate
Summary
The Assembly approved a proposed constitutional amendment revising the Independent Redistricting Commission process and allowing the legislature to enact congressional maps if IRC plans are not adopted; supporters called it needed clarification and flexibility, opponents said it weakens anti‑gerrymander protections and hands power back to politicians. The measure must pass again next session before reaching voters.
The Assembly voted on June 3 to advance a proposed constitutional amendment that would revise New York’s redistricting process for congressional and state legislative maps and change how the Independent Redistricting Commission’s (IRC) plans are handled.
Sponsor and Judiciary Committee chair framed the measure as a practical modernization: it removes certain prescriptive phrasing from the constitution, clarifies the redistricting criteria, and — critically — eliminates the IRC’s mandatory second‑map step if the legislature rejects the commission’s first submission. Under the proposal, if the IRC’s plan is not enacted, the legislature would prepare and vote on redistricting legislation that could be enacted by ordinary legislative procedure. The sponsor said the change was intended to “streamline the process” and give voters a final say at referendum after two successive legislative approvals.
The floor debate was prolonged and sharply divided. Opponents said the proposal removes constitutional guardrails — including language that districts “shall not be drawn to favor or disfavor incumbents or other particular candidates or political parties” and an explicit compactness phrase — and warned it would invite partisan mapmaking and repeated mid‑decade redistricting. “People should choose their elected officials, not elected officials choosing their voters,” one member said. Supporters argued the IRC has deadlocked in practice and that the amendment preserves public hearings and the IRC’s basic role while avoiding disruptive litigation and last‑minute map changes that can force election delays.
The Assembly recorded a roll call: Ayes 91, Nays 47. Because this is a constitutional amendment, passage requires a second enactment in the next legislative session before it can be placed on a statewide ballot for voter approval.
What supporters and opponents emphasized: - Supporters: the change provides clarity on criteria and a faster backstop when an IRC plan is not enacted; it preserves protections against racial disenfranchisement required by federal law and keeps the IRC in place. - Opponents: the measure removes explicit anti‑gerrymandering language and compactness as a named constitutional criterion, and it permits the legislature to redraw congressional maps mid‑decade without a specific trigger — which they said risks politicizing mapmaking and undermining public trust.
Next steps: The resolution must be passed again in the next legislative session and then approved by New York voters in a referendum to change the constitution.
