A bipartisan group filed a new lawsuit in the Supreme Court of New York County that seeks to invalidate the New York State Assembly district lines immediately. The petitioners in the complaint are committed to good government. They include President of the New York Young Republican Club Gavin Wax, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Paul Nichols, and former New York State Senate Candidate, Gary Greenberg. The constitutional challenge to New York State Assembly voting districts was filed by attorneys Jim Walden and Peter Devlin of Walden Macht & Haran, representing Paul Nichols, and Gary Greenberg and Aaron Foldenauer, representing Mr. Wax. The lawsuit rests on the New York State Court of Appeals decision on April 27 that held that “the enactment of the congressional and senate maps by the legislature was procedurally unconstitutional, and the congressional map is also substantively unconstitutional as drawn with impermissible partisan purpose, leaving the state without constitutional district lines for use in the 2022 primary and general elections,” and further held that the Assembly map suffers from the same “procedural infirmity.”
To view the Court papers filed in the Supreme Court of New York County on May 15, click here.
Walden said, “We intend to prevent the Albany cabal from forcing NY voters to cast their votes based on flagrantly unconstitutional maps.”
“No one disputes that the State Assembly district lines are unconstitutional, and the court now has the opportunity to ensure that a free and fair election is held,” said Aaron Foldenauer. “This emergency proceeding is necessary because the two establishment parties have been attempting to justify an illegal act by running out the clock.”
“There is ample time for the court to get it right by redrawing the State Assembly lines and holding primary elections for state offices in August or September of this year,” said Foldenauer.
Wax Said, “The voters deserve to choose their representatives pursuant to an independent redistricting process, as the State Constitution requires. We will not rest on our laurels and allow unconstitutional maps to stand for the next decade.”
The lawsuit requests that the Court:
- Invalidate unconstitutional New York State Assembly district lines.
- Align all state and local primary election voting, including voting for state-wide offices, to occur on either August 23 or September 13, the latter of which was the time-honored primary date until 2019.
- If the court issues an immediate injunction, immediately appoint a special master to redraw the New York State Assembly district lines.
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.