The New York Young Republican Club announces its support of President Gavin M. Wax’s effort to defend New Yorkers’ representation in state government.
Read the New York Post’s exclusive story here.
The New York State Assembly District lines have been called into question by new court filings submitted by Gavin M. Wax, President of the New York Young Republican Club, on Monday, May 2, 2022.
“The New York Court of Appeals has already struck down the Congressional and State Senate district maps as procedurally unconstitutional,” said Mr. Wax. “As noted by the Court of Appeals, the State Assembly district maps are also unconstitutional and should also be struck down.”
This new filing places the fate of New Yorkers’ representation in the State Assembly in the hands of Judge Patrick F. McAllister, the trial court judge in Steuben County who first struck down all three sets of maps prior to subsequent appellate court decisions.
Mr. Wax’s motion to intervene asks the Court to also strike down as unconstitutional the new State Assembly maps, in addition to the already-overturned Congressional and State Senate maps.
“The only reason that the State Assembly maps have not been struck down is because of a procedural technicality, which is hardly a justification for unconstitutional maps to stand,” said Aaron Foldenauer, the Election Attorney representing Mr. Wax in the pending motion to intervene. “We are asking the court to direct the Special Master to draw new Assembly maps in time to hold State Assembly elections on August 23 together with the rescheduled Congressional and State Senate primaries.”
“New York’s highest court has already indicated that the State Assembly maps were subject to an unconstitutional process, and it is in the public interest that these maps be corrected now. There is more than enough time to draw new maps that pass constitutional muster and hold free and fair elections,” said Foldenauer.
The Court of Appeals has ruled that the state Legislature unconstitutionally subverted the will of New York voters when drawing Congressional District and State Senate District maps. The state Legislature followed that same procedure when drawing State Assembly District maps, and the exclusion of State Assembly Districts from the ruling was due solely to the nature of petitioners’ earlier appeals.
“I will not stand for New Yorkers to suffer from the whims of an unconstitutional and undemocratic process. The exclusion of State Assembly District maps from the special master’s redistricting efforts will subject New Yorkers to a decade of misrepresentation in state government,” Mr. Wax stated.
The New York Young Republican Club stands solidly behind Mr. Wax and his motion. Since its founding on April 27, 1911, the Club’s mission statement has included among its objectives a focus to “promote honest and fair electoral methods, to the end that the expression of the popular will by whatever party or body, shall be as free, untrammeled and equal as possible [and] encourage public attention to and efficiently criticize the conduct of government.”
In its early years, the Club battled the infamous Tammany Hall machine that misgoverned the Empire State for generations. Today, it backs Mr. Wax as he carries forward that legacy of fighting for the public interest in the face of unconstitutional behavior by the state Legislature.
The Club has created a dedicated Litigation Fund that will support Mr. Wax’s initial motion and subsequent legal actions. We call on all New Yorkers who value good government and democratic principles to support this effort. Contributions can be made to the Litigation Fund by clicking here. Mr. Wax has incurred $12,500 in legal fees for his initial motion. Support our effort to fully fund necessary litigation to ensure that Democracy in New York is defended.
Mr. Wax’s motion has been filed in Tim Harkenrider et al. v. Governor Kathy Hochul et al.
Read Mr. Wax’s Memorandum of Law here and his new Cause of Action here.