New York’s high court ruled Tuesday the state must redraw congressional districts ahead of the 2024 presidential election‚ giving Democrats an edge in The Empire State. “The 4-3 decision from the New York Court of Appeals could have major ramifications as Democrats angle for more favorable district lines in the state next year‚” the Associated Press reports. “Republicans‚ who won control of the House after flipping seats in New York‚ sought to keep the map in place‚” the outlet added. BREAKING: New York's high court orders state to redraw congressional maps‚ potentially giving Democrats an edge in fight for House – AP — Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 12‚ 2023 Just the News reports: In 2022‚ the state’s Independent Redistricting Committee submitted dueling pairs of congressional district maps to the legislature‚ which state Democrats rejected before going on to draw their own. That map was then struck down by Steuben County State Supreme Court Judge Patrick McAllister‚ who found it “was unconstitutionally drawn with political bias.” He then directed a special master to draw new maps‚ which featured in the 2022 midterms that saw Republicans pick up several House seats. A lower court in July of this year determined that the IRC should have been permitted to submit an additional proposal to the legislature after it rejected its first pair of maps. The Tuesday ruling saw the Appeals court rule 4-3 in favor of ordering the IRC to reconvene‚ Politico reported. The Democrat-controlled legislature must ultimately approve the congressional maps proposed by the Independent Redistricting Commission. New York court orders redrawing of congressional district maps | Just The News https://t.co/J9x5XDvCF2 — John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) December 12‚ 2023 New York Attorney General Letitia James celebrated the ruling. “The court’s decision to redraw New York’s Congressional maps is a big victory to ensure our electoral process is transparent and follows our state’s constitution. My office fought in this case so New Yorkers can have a say in how their communities will be represented‚” James said. The court’s decision to redraw New York’s Congressional maps is a big victory to ensure our electoral process is transparent and follows our state’s constitution. My office fought in this case so New Yorkers can have a say in how their communities will be represented. — NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) December 12‚ 2023 The court ordered the commission to file a congressional map no later than Feb 28th‚ 2024. From the Associated Press: The ruling is an early‚ but important‚ step in Democrats’ plans to retake a handful of congressional districts in New York seen as vital to winning a House majority. “Today’s decision is a win for democracy and particularly the people of New York. We are eager for the Independent Redistricting Commission to get back to work to create a new‚ fair congressional map – through the process New York voters intended‚” said Suzan DelBene‚ chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Democrats sued to have last year’s maps thrown out after their party lost a handful of seats in the New York City suburbs and handed control of the House to Republicans. The case came after Democrats in the state bungled the redistricting process for the 2022 elections‚ and along with what many considered political miscalculations at the top of the state ticket‚ drew blame for the party’s loss of the House. The maps used last year were supposed to be drawn by a bipartisan commission that was established by voters to stop partisan gerrymandering of districts. But the commission‚ which is made up of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans‚ failed to reach a consensus and eventually gave up.