Nearly three-quarters of New York voters oppose attempts by the state government — which is controlled by Democrats — to redraw congressional districts to favor their candidates in the elections next year, a new poll found.
According to the Stop NY Corruption poll, which was obtained by the New York Post, 72% of likely voters in the Empire State rejected political gerrymandering and a full 81% of voters saw the partisan redistricting process as cheating.
Just over 6 in 10, or 62%, of those surveyed said they disapprove of New York Democrats’ ongoing attempts to invalidate the district lines that were established last year by a court-appointed special master.
Eighty percent of respondents agreed with the New York State Constitution clause that declares “districts shall not be drawn to discourage competition or for the purpose of favoring or disfavoring incumbents or other particular candidates or political parties.”
Among those polled, 78% agreed with the sentiment, “partisan political gerrymandering leads to more corruption.”
When asked if gerrymandering denies voters their civil right to pick their congressional representative in a competitive election, 75% of voters agreed; 72% said gerrymandering enables party leaders to determine members of Congress.
“The poll shows that the Democrats are going against the will of the people,” Republican pollster John McLaughlin, who conducted the survey, told the Post. “They’re not supposed to do partisan gerrymandering.”
He added that voters of all political stripes said altering the congressional district lines is tantamount to corruption.
Last year, the New York Supreme Court threw out new congressional and state Senate district lines, finding they were favoring Democrats over Republicans.
The court then appointed a neutral special master to draw more balanced lines and Republicans subsequently recaptured control of the House, picking up three seats in the lower chamber.
A mid-level court ruled in favor of Democrats in the most recent legal salvo, however, when it ordered the redistricting commission to redraw the districts.
The state court of appeals will hear arguments in the Republicans’ challenge to that decision next month.
The redistricting process happens once every 10 years to account for population changes.
The poll was conducted Sept. 7-10 and surveyed 600 likely New York voters. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.