Gov. Kathy Hochul said on the 10th that she is keeping open a constitutional amendment that would allow congressional districts to be redrawn between censuses. If the Legislature passes the amendment again in its session next year, it could go to voters as early as November 2027, and the new districts could apply starting with the 2028 elections.
Speaking to reporters in her Manhattan office on Tuesday, the 10th, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she is still keeping open the option of amending the state constitution to allow congressional districts to be redrawn between the once-a-decade censuses. She has not decided whether to pursue it. If an amendment is adopted, new districts could apply as early as the 2028 elections.
Under the current state constitution, a bipartisan commission draws district lines after each census and the Legislature gives final approval; there is no process for changing the lines in between. In June, the Legislature gave first passage to an amendment that would allow mid-decade redistricting and remove the ban on gerrymandering. A state constitutional amendment must pass two successively elected legislatures, so if it passes again next year, it would go to voters as early as November 2027.
The amendment push began as a Democratic response after Republican-led states such as Texas and North Carolina redrew their districts last year. Some see the rationale as weakened now that Democrats have retaken the House majority in the election on the 3rd. But Hochul said the new maps in other states remain in place and that election results can shift every two years, so she intends to take a long-term view. She added that she will discuss the direction with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the leaders of the state Senate and Assembly.
Republicans are pushing back. Former U.S. Rep. John Faso criticized the effort, saying New York voters approved the current redistricting process in 2014 and rejected a Democratic-led redraw in 2021. Within the Democratic Party, state Sen. Shelley Mayer said it is too early to say whether the amendment will be taken up again next year. The Legislature begins its 2027 session in January, and Democrats hold more than two-thirds of the seats in both the Senate and the Assembly.