Redistricting map halted in court –– again

A State Supreme Court justice has signed a temporary restraining order barring Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, the County Board of Elections and the County Legislature from adopting the new legislative redistricting lines that were approved on May 24.

The restraining order, signed by Judge Steven Jaeger on May 31, prohibits any action until the case is heard in court, which is supposed to take place June 14, according to sources familiar with the proceedings.

Last month, Jaeger had signed a restraining order, effectively barring the Legislature from voting on the redistricting lines. But an appellate judge overturned the decision, allowing the Legislature to vote on the matter. A new legislative district map subsequently passed, with the Legislature voting 10-8 for it. Legislator Denise Ford, a Republican from Long Beach, was the only GOP representative to vote against it.

The new redistricting lines were crafted by the County Attorney’s Office at the suggestion of Peter Schmitt, a Republican who represents the 12th District and the Legislature’s presiding officer.

The temporary restraining order filed by the Democrats claims that the new redistricting plan violates sections 113 and 114 of the County Charter, and that new lines cannot be drawn until a bipartisan commission conducts a study to collect data about the 19 districts and then transmits its recommendations for dividing the county into districts to the Legislature.

The Republicans, meanwhile, contend that the legislative lines must be redrawn immediately, saying that the current population deviation – the difference between the least and most populous districts – stands at 22.7 percent, which they say they believe violates the U.S. Constitution.

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