| By Carl Campanile Published Oct. 22, 2023, 8:35p.m. ET |
| New York voters widely oppose any attempts by the Democrat-controlled state government to redraw congressional district lines in order to give their candidates an edge over Republicans in the 2024 elections, according to a new poll obtained by The Post. Gerrymandering was rejected by 72% of likely voters, while 81% of voters viewed the partisan political redistricting as cheating, the survey – conducted by GOP pollster John McLaughlin for the group Stop NY Corruption – found. More than half – 62% – of respondents said they disapprove of current attempts by New York Democrats to throw out the 2022 district lines that were drawn by a neutral, court-appointed special master. When asked, 80% of voters agreed with a clause in the New York State Constitution that states, “districts shall not be drawn to discourage competition or for the purpose of favoring or disfavoring incumbents or other particular candidates or political parties.” And 78% of those polled agreed with the statement, “partisan political gerrymandering leads to more corruption.” Three-quarters of voters agreed with the statement that partisan political gerrymandering denies voters their civil right to choose their member of Congress in a competitive election, and 72% said it gives political party bosses the power to pick individual members of Congress. |
| Another 70% agreed with the statement that partisan political gerrymandering end holding members of Congress accountable to their constituents. New York’s highest court last year struck down new district lines for Congress and the state Senate, ruling they were drawn up to give political advantage to Democrats at the expense of Republicans. A court-appointed special master subsequently drew more even-handed lines, and that helped Republicans snag three House seats and win majority control of the lower chamber. But Democrats won the latest legal skirmish when a mid-level court ordered the redistricting commission to redraw the lines. Republicans challenged the decision and the state Court of Appeals will hear arguments in the case on Nov. 15. The poll by the Republican-leaning Stop NY Corruption is the latest salvo in the redistricting fight. “The poll shows that the Democrats are going against the will of the people. They’re not supposed to do partisan gerrymandering,” pollster McLaughlin said. |
| A spokesman for Stop NY Corruption said the group will release more information about the group later this week. The redoing of congressional lines to accommodate population changes occurs once every 10 years. The survey of 600 likely voters from Sept. 7-10 has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. |
