New York Is Thrown Into Gerrymandering Debate as New Lawsuit Is Filed Over ‘Racial Vote Dilution’

A handful of New Yorkers have filed a lawsuit challenging the state's congressional map and claiming "racial vote dilution." It thrusts the Empire State into the gerrymandering controversy that district maps favor a party.

The lawsuit comes as New Yorkers have started early voting—which includes the highly contested race for mayor, where Democrat Zohran Mamdani leads independent Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

It was filed by the Washington, DC, firm Elias Law Group, which shared a copy of the suit with Realtor.com®.

"Black and Latina Staten Islanders have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to elect a representative of their choice and influence elections in New York's 11th Congressional District, in violation of the prohibition against racial vote dilution," the document claims.

The lawsuit mentions the Voting Rights Act meant to strengthen the voting rights of all New Yorkers. It names a number of plaintiffs, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

The four New Yorkers who filed the lawsuit hail from Staten Island and Manhattan, respectively. The crux of this suit argues that the lines for the 11th Congressional District unfairly exclude Black and Latino voters who live in that district. They want the congressional maps to be redrawn.

The lawsuit claims that the white population on Staten Island dropped from 85% to 56% between 1980 and 2020, while the combined Black and Latino population increased from approximately 11% to nearly 30% during that 40-year time frame.

Even though it was filed in the State Supreme Court in Manhattan, it doesn't affect the current election. Instead, the plaintiffs hope to see change for the 2026 midterm elections.

Currently, the 11th Congressional District is represented by Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, the only Republican representing New York City.

The suit alleges that Malliotakis is "decidedly not Black and Latino voters' candidate of choice and has never been their candidate of choice in any congressional election."

The suit went on to cite an example: "In the 2017 mayoral election, in which Representative Malliotakis was the Republican nominee for mayor, Black and Latino Staten Islanders were consistent in their support for Bill DeBlasio, the Democratic nominee, whereas white Staten Islanders overwhelmingly support Malliotakis."

It also cited the 2020 presidential election and how Black and Latino Staten Islanders were "cohesive in their support of former President Biden, whereas white Staten Islanders supported President Trump's campaign."

The lawsuit hopes it will pave the way to redistricting for the 2026 elections.

"Shifting populations and changing demographics across New York, driven in part by affordability pressures and economic constraints, are reshaping debates over political representation," says Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com.

Malliotakis is up for reelection, and on Monday, President Donald Trump threw his support behind her campaign.

"Nicole Malliotakis has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election—SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" Trump wrote on Instagram.

The suit suggests a "new district in which Black and Latino voters have the ability to influence congressional elections can be drawn by joining Staten Island with voters in lower Manhattan."

Race for mayor

Meanwhile, early voting has started for the hotly contested race for New York City mayor. Mamdani is the favorite, but he's received criticism from critics on the right, including Trump.

The president has painted the 34-year-old politician from Queens as a Communist. Mamdani has repeatedly denied that claim, identifying himself as a Democratic Socialist.

Housing has been at the center of Mamdani's campaign, including his "freeze the rent" plan. He says he'll halt rent hikes on more than 960,000 rental units—or roughly 45% of the city's private rental supply.

Realtor.com senior economist Jake Krimmel says that while the plan may provide immediate relief for many families, "it would make an already tight rental market even tighter."

Krimmel says with any rent freeze in place, fewer renters would move, fewer apartments would turn over, and available stock would shrink more.

A Realtor.com analysis released over the summer found that even with rents frozen in New York City, it would take 20 years for rents to become affordable.

Redrawing districts

Next year's midterm elections is critical for which party will control the House of Representatives.

Democrats need three seats to take control.

The latest lawsuit pushing for redistricting is not limited to New York. In Virginia and Colorado, Democratic leaders are pushing for new lines to be redrawn.

While in Missouri, lawmakers are pushing for a revised U.S. House map that could give Republicans a better advantage at winning at least seven of the eight congressional districts in the state, according to PBS.

North Carolina lawmakers approved changes to the U.S. House district map, which would help the party unseat a Democratic incumbent, according to the Associated Press.

Republicans in Indiana, Nebraska, and Kansas are also rallying for redistricting.

Ohio will have new congressional districts for next year's midterm elections because the current congressional map expires in 2026 and state lawmakers are required by law to redraw the districts this year.

Utah is also in the process of redistricting where chaos appears to be ensuing as Republicans are asking voters to sign petitions that would "undermine their own constitutional right to reform government."

In California, Proposition 50 would allow the state to adopt a new map of congressional districts. A special election to approve this measure will be Nov. 4.

The most famous argument for redistricting was out of Texas, where lawmakers fled the state to avoid a Republican redistricting plan. They eventually returned and in the end, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a new congressional map into law last August, which all but secures an additional five Republican-leaning House districts seats.

Typically, states may redraw their congressional districts following a U.S. census every 10 years.