The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a major victory in the New York redistricting showdown, siding with Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and halting a lower court order that would have redrawn New York’s 11th Congressional District. The ruling preserves the current map covering Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn and intensifies debate over race and election law.
Over the dissent of the court’s three liberal justices, the conservative majority blocked a state court directive requiring New York’s Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw the district. A state judge had ruled the lines diluted the voting power of Black and Hispanic residents and instructed the commission to produce a new map.
Malliotakis welcomed the decision. “Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to keep New York’s 11th Congressional District intact helps restore the public’s confidence in our judicial system and proves the challenge to our district lines was always meritless,” she said. She added, “The plaintiffs in this case attempted to manipulate our state’s courts to use race as a weapon to rig our elections. That was wrong and, as demonstrated by today’s ruling, clearly unconstitutional.”
In October 2025, voters sued in state court challenging the district’s boundaries. A Democrat-affiliated law firm argued the Staten Island district should swap portions of Brooklyn for areas of Lower Manhattan, where President Trump lost by more than 50 points in 2024. The state judge declined to impose that specific map but ruled changes were needed.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote that the lower court ruling amounted to “unadorned racial discrimination” in violation of the U.S. Constitution, according to The Associated Press.
