The New York State Independent Redistricting Commission was supposed to put out a draft version of new state and Congressional district maps Wednesday.

Instead, they put out two competing versions after Democratic and Republican members failed to reach consensus.

What You Need To Know

  • The NYS Independent Redistricting Commission was supposed to release a draft version of new state and Congressional district maps Wednesday

  • Instead, the bipartisan commission failed to reach consensus and put out two sets of competing maps

  • The commission was created in order to make the decennial redistricting process less political
  • A final proposal is due by Jan. 15 to state lawmakers, who can override the panel and redraw the maps

“The fact that we put out two plans does not indicate that the commission will be unable to come to a bipartisan agreement,” said David Imamura, chair of the commission and a Democratic appointee. “I think our side felt that putting two plans out maximized transparency and achieved the purpose of the commission. We want the public to weigh in.”

The public will get to weigh in during a series of public hearings, including several here in the city in November, before the maps are finalized and sent to the state legislature. They must be submitted no later than January 15.

But state lawmakers can override the commission and redraw the lines themselves. That would work greatly to the advantage of Democrats, who already enjoy a supermajority in both houses.

“They’re the ones who will ultimately approve these lines, [or] get rid of them and draw their own – those are their two options,” said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public interest Research Group, a good government group.

The process of re-drawing district lines for Congressional and state legislative districts happens just once a decade. This time, a bipartisan, independent commission was supposed to take some of the politics out of the redistricting process. 

Instead, the commission itself is already mired in gridlock and partisan finger-pointing.

“One map was drawn by the Republicans. The other map was drawn by the Democrats,” said Jack Martins, vice chair of the commission and a former Republican state senator. “We were supposed to get together before today’s meeting to reach consensus in hopes of finding a single map. One side decided they didn’t want to meet, and didn’t want to discuss any changes, and wanted to advance their map the way it was.”

Imamura disputed the notion that Democratic appointees were the obstacle to consensus. “What was proposed on the table was literally me and Jack sitting in a smoke-filled Zoom for 24 hours to draw the lines,” he said, “and we just were not OK with that.”

The stakes are highest when it comes to Congressional maps. Democrats could draw districts in a way that virtually guarantees Republicans will lose seats — the opposite of what's happening in Republican-controlled statehouses around the country.

"New York is one of the big blue states where you might have an impact on what the Congressional lines are from the Democrats’ side,” Horner said. “So it has national implications and historical significance, whatever this process plays out.”