BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

CANTON -- Congressional district maps have been redrawn and approved by the Independent Redistricting Commission, potentially clearing the way for new districts for November elections this year.

The commission officials approved the single map by a 9-1 vote on Feb. 15 in a move that will see the maps move to the state legislature for approval.

For the north country, little has changed for Congresswoman Elise Stefanik's district, NY-21.

Stefanik's district will continue to include eastern Jefferson County, which includes Fort Drum, all of St. Lawrence County and a portion of the Capital Region north of Albany.

Boundaries have moved slightly, removing Alexandria Bay from the district but was extended further into Oneida County to incorporate towns and cities as far south as Camden and Rome. A small boundary change will also see Carthage incorporated into NY-21 as well.  

In the south east of the district, boundary lines have moved further south as well, pushing past the previous line that ran along the Hudson River and circled around Corinth and Glens Falls.

Now, the new district boundary runs along in a straight line across the top of Saratoga County, incorporating more small towns in the area. A new line drawn in the area also removes Amsterdam from the district.

Action is not expected to be taken on the new map until the state legislature returns to the capital on Feb. 26. Once lawmakers return, they will be able to approve the maps as designed or vote it down and push to have one drawn up that may be more favorable.

Members of both parties have already suggested the newly designed map would likely net Democrats one more seat in the House Of Representatives.

This is not the first attempt by the IRC to redraw the congressional district map, after Democrats and Republicans shot down the 2021 IRC map.

Democrats and Republicans alike disapproved of the map, leading Democrats to draw their own map that was widely viewed by Republicans as a partisan attempt to gerrymander districts in the party's favor.

If Democrats were to shoot down the new map again and push for a redesign, the move could lead to another lawsuit like the one filed in February 2022 by a Republican-led group of voters.

That lawsuit was launched just one day after Democratic lawmakers in Albany approved their own redistricting map that Republican officials argued would have heavily favored the party in the midterm elections.

Plaintiffs argued that the new district lines violated a 2014 state constitutional amendment that was to protect against partisan district drawing, arguing the state legislature "brazenly enacted a congressional map that is undeniably politically gerrymandered in their party's favor."

Following a state Court of Appeals decision to throw out the Democratic party's map, a special master was brought in to draw maps with no input from either party, leading to the current maps in use.

A 2023 ruling by the Court of Appeals found the special masters' maps were not intended to be used until the next census but rather as a bridge to the next election that would allow the IRC and legislature another attempt to follow provisions in the state constitution to redraw district maps.

“The decision today opens the door for Democrats to rig our Constitutional district lines so that elections are decided not by the voters, but by politicians in a back room,” said Stefanik shortly after the courts authorized continuing the redistricting efforts.

State Democrats said in a public statement they were "eager to review the proposed map submitted by the IRC," something that has led many to believe they may accept the new map in an effort to make some swing districts more competitive. Some districts in question include NY-22 and NY-24, both of which would see increases in the number of registered Democrats in those districts if the new map were to be accepted.

To view the probable congressional map for 2024, visit www.nyirc.gov/congressional-plan-2024