New York, NY - Assemblymember Micah Lasher and Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris introduced a constitutional amendment that would allow the New York State Legislature to redraw congressional districts in the event that another state engages in mid-decade redistricting.

Historically, each decade following the census, states redraw their electoral maps to address population changes and neighborhood shifts. But right now, lawmakers in Texas are preparing to break from precedent and conduct a mid-decade redistricting to create five new congressional districts at the direction of President Trump to secure one-party control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The proposed amendment would permit New York to respond to protect the representation interests of its residents.

"New York can’t sit on the sidelines as other states plot to game the system and supercharge Donald Trump’s assault on our democracy,” said Assemblymember Micah Lasher. “This constitutional amendment will give New York the tools to protect our people and their voices in Washington if another state fires the first shot on a new battlefield of mid-decade redistricting.”

“New York will not sit idly by as other states work to disenfranchise voters,” said Senate Deputy Leader Gianaris. “States must play by the same rules for a legitimate democracy to exist, and if red states are intent on corrupting the redistricting process, New York will respond.”

While Texans are showing up in droves to testify in opposition to their legislature's proposed redistricting, Trump signaled that this strategy wouldn’t stop with Texas, but instead expand to other states.

The proposed constitutional amendment in New York would respond to the unprecedented actions the White House is demanding from states like Texas, and ensure New Yorkers are equitably represented in the House of Representatives. This measure aims to ensure that New York can respond when other states act to undermine our democracy.

Under New York's constitutional amendment process, the resolution must pass both houses of the Legislature in two successive legislative sessions and then be approved by a popular vote of the general public in a statewide referendum. This amendment would position New York to respond to future partisan redistricting efforts for years to come.

During his tenure in the legislature Senator Gianaris has worked diligently on securing voting rights and expanding New Yorkers access to the ballot. Assemblymember Lasher has focused on using the power of State government to respond to the actions of the Trump administration.