STOP NY CORRUPTION

SIGN THE PETITION!
Let Your Voice Be Heard

Join us in the crucial fight against corruption and gerrymandering to safeguard and strengthen democracy, civil rights, and competitive elections in New York.

Sign the petition below to add your name alongside other New Yorkers in stopping the corrupt Albany politicians.

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We must stop the corruption taking place in New York State. Redrawing the current Congressional map to heavily favor one political party undermines the integrity of the electoral process, creating an environment ripe for corruption.

Balanced representation encourages healthy competition and accountability, and ensures that the diverse voices of the electorate are heard. Join us in fighting back against the corrupt politics in Albany.

In September, Stop NY Corruption retained the respected corporate and political pollster McLaughlin & Associates to conduct a poll of New York State voters and their opinion of the ongoing partisan political attempts to gerrymander all U.S. House of Representative Districts in the Empire State.

Top 10 Reasons Why The Court of Appeals Was Wrong In Ordering The IRC To Redraw The Current Congressional Map:

1. Reasonable Districts: Neither political party has challenged the current Congressional map. At the Court of Appeals hearing in November, the current Congressional map was not challenged. The attorney representing the Democrats confirmed they had no issue with the current lines of the map. “We are not challenging the maps.”

2. The Current Lines Favor Democrats: Out of 26 Congressional districts, only 3 of those are Republican-majority districts. The other 23 Congressional districts are Democrat-majority districts. New Yorkers vote to elect 15 Democrats and 11 Republicans, creating a balance of representation which is proportional to the total popular vote in these elections (56% D to 44% R).

3. Delay of Elections: Using the current Congressional map would not delay primary elections.

4. Cost to the Taxpayers: The expenses of conducting two primaries could cost up to $120 million according to Bloomberg Government. Taxpayers have already footed the bill of $2.4 million, paid to law firms by the politicians to defend their gerrymandering.

5. Confusion: Confusion for elected officials, confusion for candidates, and most importantly, confusion for millions of voters across New York State. Candidates are allowed to start circulating petitions on February 27th, but new map do not need to even be proposed until February 28th.

6. More Legal Delay: A gerrymandered map will undoubtedly result in further lawsuits and delay.

7. An inability to properly represent constituents: For example, in NY-03, a new Member of Congress will be elected in mid-February and, within days, will have a new Congressional district to run in for November. How can a Member of Congress properly represent their constituents when they do not know who their constituents are?

8. Restoring Judicial Integrity: The Court of Appeals fell victim to the corruption in Albany and clearly put party politics before the state Constitution. Approval of the current fair map would only make this a footnote in the history books, not a historical turning point in the integrity of the New York Court of Appeals.

9. Non-Partisan Professionals: The current Congressional map was drawn by an independent redistricting expert from Carnegie Mellon University. Corrupt Albany politicians want to take control of the mapping process so they redraw this map in secret.

10. No Public Input: The cynical politicians in Albany have decided they are not going to allow public hearings and comment on the redistricting process.

A Majority of the current Congressional Districts already favor one party.

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How We Got Here

  1. 2014

    New Yorkers approve, via statewide popular vote, a constitutional amendment proposed by the bipartisan state Legislature to establish a 10-member independent redistricting commission (IRC).

  2. April 25, 2021

    The U.S. Census Bureau releases census data on April 25, 2021; New York State loses one congressional seat due to loss of population.

  3. 2021

    During the 2021 New York State Legislative session, the Democrat-controlled state Senate and Assembly pass legislation that gives control of the redistricting process to themselves, the partisan Legislature, if the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) reaches an impasse. The IRC holds numerous public hearings throughout the state over the remainder of 2021.

  4. November 2021:

    New Yorkers reject, via statewide popular vote, a constitutional amendment proposed by the Democrat-controlled state Legislature that would repeal portions of the state constitutional amendment adopted by voters in 2014 that created the independent redistricting commission (IRC).

  5. January 2022

    The Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) cannot reach a consensus on new maps, so it presents two different plans to the Legislature; one by Democratic members of the IRC and the other by Republican members. At that point, the IRC abandoned its constitutional duty by refusing to meet and the Legislature rejected both sets of maps.

  6. February 3, 2022

    A group of concerned New York voters file a lawsuit with the New York Supreme Court against New York’s Governor, Lt. Governor, legislative leaders, State Board of Elections, and the Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment, challenging both the state’s previous and enacted congressional redistricting plans as violating the New York Constitution.

  7. March 31, 2022

    A New York Supreme Court Justice issues his decision striking down the state’s congressional, state Senate, and state Assembly plans as unconstitutional.

  8. April 4, 2022

    The New York Supreme Court’s Appellate Division issues an order temporarily staying the Supreme Court’s decision until April 7 pending the parties; arguments take place as to why a complete stay should or should not be issued while the case proceeds through the appellate process.


    April 26 & 27, 2022

    Oral arguments are held before the Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals holds that both the congressional and state senate redistricting plans were enacted in violation of the state’s constitutional redistricting process and the congressional plan was drawn with unconstitutional partisan intent. Both maps are declared void. The Court affirms the lower courts' finding of unconstitutional partisan intent underlying the congressional plans creation as sufficiently supported by the facts and evidence in the record, specifically noting the finding that it was drawn to discourage competition.

  9. May 21, 2022

    The court-approved non-partisan special master submits his final report and congressional and state Senate redistricting plans to the court, and the court issues an order adopting them as final the same day.

  10. June 2, 2022

    The court issues an order adopting minor revisions to the senate and congressional plans based on recommendations from the State Legislative Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment.

  11. November 2022

    Elections are held to elect 26 U.S. Representatives from New York State using the court-drawn map. New Yorkers vote to elect 15 Democrats and 11 Republicans, creating a balance of representation which is proportional to the total popular vote in these elections (56% D to 44% R).

  12. June 8, 2023

    Out of state law firms, paid by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), argue before appellate judges in Albany in favor of tossing out the court-drawn districts and returning the mapmaking powers to New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission, and ultimately, the State Legislature that gerrymandered the lines in the first place.

  13. July 13, 2023

    The Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court in Albany rules that the competitive, court-drawn districts put in place for the 2022 midterms had only been a temporary fix. The court orders the IRC to promptly restart a process that would effectively give the Democrat-controlled State Legislature final say over the contours of New York’s 26 House seats through the 2030 elections.


    July 25, 2023

    An appeal is filed on the above decision made by the Appellate Division of the State Supreme Court in Albany.

  14. August 14, 2023

    New York’s top court, the Court of Appeals, agrees to hear the redistricting case on November 15, 2023.

  15. October 2023

    Court of Appeals Judge Caitlin Halligan recuses herself from the case without explanation.

  16. November 2023

    New York State Court of Appeals hears oral arguments over the state’s redistricting case.

  17. December 2023

    The New York State Court of Appeals orders the IRC (Independent Redistricting Commission) to redraw the state’s congressional map before the 2024 elections.

  18. February 15, 2024

    The IRC issues a new Congressional map not too different from the 2022 Special Master map.

    February 26, 2024

    The NYS Legislature rejects the IRC map.

    February 28, 2024

    The NYS Legislature adopts a new map which alters some Congressional districts, but leaves most districts untouched.