NY Dems Sued for Effort To Split Jewish Vote

Democrats

Map would dilute Brooklyn Jews’ voting power and create ‘a partisan advantage’ for Dems
An Orthodox Jewish man in Crown Heights / Getty Images Chuck Ross • February 8, 2022 5:00 am

A group of Republican voters in New York says Democrats illegally split up conservative Jewish voters in freshly drawn congressional maps as part of a scheme to help Democratic candidates in November.
Election laws require states to strive to place communities with cultural and social ties—known as “communities of interest”—in the same congressional districts. But 14 Republican voters say the New York map shifts Orthodox Jewish and Russian Jewish votes from the state’s 11th district, held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R.), to Democratic strongholds in the 8th, 9th and 10th districts. The result is a map that dilutes Brooklyn Jews’ voting power and creates “a partisan advantage” for Democrats.
“The new map divides closely knit, concentrated Orthodox Jewish and Russian communities with strong social and cultural ties, resulting in conservative Republican-leaning voters spread or ‘cracked’ across multiple districts,” the lawsuit reads.
Malliotakis’s district includes Staten Island and portions of south Brooklyn. Though the updated map includes Staten Island, it replaces conservative Jewish communities with Brooklyn’s more liberal enclaves.
“Anyone looking at the maps can see that they are changing the boundaries to tilt the scale and give their candidates an advantage,” said Malliotakis, who narrowly defeated Democratic incumbent Max Rose in 2020.
The suit targets Gov. Kathy Hochul (D.) and other state leaders for approving one of the most aggressively gerrymandered House district maps in the country. The move would raise Democrats’ advantage over Republicans from 11 seats to 18. Political observers say the map, should it survive legal challenges, could single-handedly help Democrats maintain control of the House …

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