On February 27, U.S. District Magistrate Roanne L. Mann in the eastern district issued an order in the redistricting lawsuit called Favors v Cuomo. She wants the plaintiffs, and Assembly Democrats, and Senate Republicans, and all other intervenors, to submit proposed U.S. House district boundaries by Wednesday, February 29. She wants a detailed explanation for each plan of how that plan comports with applicable federal and state law. Responses to each of these maps are then due by Friday, March 2.
She has also appointed some experts, including Law Professor Nathaniel Persily, to help her make the final choice, and she expects to make that final choice in mid-March. It is theoretically possible that the legislature will now move quickly to pass its own plan, because the entire basis of the Favors lawsuit is that the legislature is hopelessly deadlocked and the court must act in its place. See this story, which was published shortly before the court hearing. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for this news.
Attention ALL math MORONS – esp. judges and law school profs
1/2 votes x 1/2 districts = 1/4 CONTROL
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P.R. and nonpartisan App.V.
The state legislature has now officially missed their own deadline for publishing congressional maps and submitting them for a vote of the entire legislature. Congressional petitioning is supposed to begin around March 20th in advance of a new June 26th primary date, but it’s hard to see how that doesn’t change now. Apparently there were “several” maps being circulated privately but none could get a handshake agreement between the two big parties. And the proposed lines for the State Assembly and Senate are just as dubious.