ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York state Democrats engaged in gerrymandering when drawing new congressional district boundaries for the next decade, a panel of five mid-level appellate judges ruled Thursday.

In a divided 3-2 ruling, the majority found the congressional map was unconstitutional — a decision that, if upheld, would block the use of those district lines for the upcoming midterm elections in November.

The court found Democratic lawmakers acted within their power to approve the maps, after a bipartisan redistricting commission failed to do so earlier this year. But judi slot online jackpot terbesar
the judges ruled the 2022 congressional map itself “was drawn to discourage competition and favor Democrats.”

Democrats’ attorneys had argued the maps were fair to Republicans, who lost their decadeslong control of the state Senate in 2018 but have won some swing districts. Democrats said the new maps protect minority voting rights and reflect population loss in upstate communities once considered Republican strongholds.