The US Supreme Court blocked Democrats from redrawing New York City’s lone GOP-held House seat following an emergency appeal from Rep. Nicole Malliotakis.
The order grants a stay, barring a state judge from redrawing the 11th Congressional District map ahead of the midterm elections.
Malliotakis had appealed to the high court earlier this month, after a Manhattan judge ruled her district’s current map — which links Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn — was “unconstitutional,” and ordered it redrawn in January.
“This evening, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a stay in the NY-11 case,” New York GOP Chairman Ed Cox wrote in a statement.
“This blatantly political case violated both the New York State and federal constitutions and, as Justice Alito stated, the lower court’s decision was a full-blown racial gerrymander,” Cox said.
A separate appeal from Republicans to halt the Dems’ attempts at redrawing the district lines was unanimously rejected by a mid-level state appellate court.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.