SLATER JOINS LAWLER, ASSEMBLY & SENATE REPUBLICANS TO OPPOSE PARTISAN REDISTRICTING EFFORTS

Assemblyman Matt Slater (R,C-Yorktown) joined Rep. Mike Lawler, members of the Assembly Republican Conference and members of the Senate Republican Conference today at a press conference to oppose reported efforts by Albany Democrats to advance constitutional amendments that would redraw New York’s congressional districts and weaken the state’s independent redistricting process.

Recent reports indicate that legislative Democrats may introduce multiple constitutional amendments before the end of the legislative session in an effort to redraw electoral maps mid-decade and circumvent the Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC), a process approved by voters in 2014 to prevent partisan gerrymandering and remove politicians from drawing their own districts.

Slater argued that the IRC is functioning exactly as New Yorkers intended—creating competitive districts where neither political party controls the outcome and voters ultimately decide elections.

“The Independent Redistricting Commission is not failing. It is succeeding. The reason Democrats want to change it is that voters—not politicians—are deciding elections,” Slater said. “New Yorkers voted overwhelmingly to create an independent process because they were tired of politicians drawing districts for their own political benefit. Competitive elections aren’t a flaw in the system—they are the goal.”

Rep. Mike Lawler said: ‘New Yorkers overwhelmingly voted to take politics out of the redistricting process by creating an independent commission, yet Albany Democrats continue looking for ways to manipulate congressional maps for their own political advantage. I've been consistent on this issue regardless of which party is in power—I opposed partisan gerrymandering in Florida and Texas, and I oppose it in New York. Voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around. The integrity of our elections depends on public trust, and that trust is eroded when politicians try to rig the system to protect their own power.”

Slater noted New York’s highest court struck down congressional maps enacted in 2022 after finding they violated the state’s constitutional prohibition against partisan gerrymandering. He warned that the latest proposals represent another attempt to weaken the reforms approved directly by voters.

“For years, Albany Democrats have tried to weaken, bypass or dismantle the independent redistricting reforms that New Yorkers put in place,” Slater said. “If they truly believed the process was broken, they would have made that argument years ago. Instead, they're attacking it because it works. It works because politicians don’t control the outcome, voters do.”

Slater emphasized that any constitutional amendment would require passage in two consecutive legislative sessions before being submitted to voters for approval in a statewide referendum.

“This issue is bigger than Republicans and Democrats,” Slater said. “It’s about whether constitutional reforms approved by voters actually mean something. It’s about whether we continue a system where voters choose their representatives or return to a system where politicians choose their voters.”

Assembly Republicans pledged to continue opposing any effort to undermine the IRC and called on legislative leaders to respect the will of New York voters and preserve the state’s constitutional protections against partisan gerrymandering.