Former New York Gov. David Paterson is sounding the alarm over a Democratic-backed effort to rewrite the rules governing congressional redistricting in New York, warning that the proposal would hand politicians greater power to draw districts for partisan advantage and further deepen the political divisions already tearing at the country.
The criticism is particularly notable because it comes from a lifelong Democrat and former chairman of the New York Democratic Party, not from a Republican opponent.
Speaking Sunday on 77 WABC’s The Cats Roundtable, Paterson sharply criticized Gov. Kathy Hochul and Democratic lawmakers for supporting a constitutional amendment that would make it easier for the Legislature to redraw congressional maps and potentially reduce the number of Republican-held seats in the state.
“They’re going to draw their own maps,” Paterson said. “For partisan gain.”
Paterson suggested Hochul’s support for the proposal is driven as much by political necessity as principle.
“She’s almost taking a lead on it just to maintain that relationship,” he said, referring to the Democratic-controlled Legislature. “It’s a real problem.”
The debate centers on a proposed amendment to New York’s constitution that would significantly alter how congressional districts are drawn.
Under the current system, a bipartisan redistricting commission proposes congressional maps, and lawmakers need a two-thirds vote to override those recommendations. The proposed amendment would lower that threshold to a simple majority in both legislative chambers, giving Democrats far greater power to impose their preferred maps.
The measure would also remove language stating that districts “shall not be drawn to discourage competition,” a change critics argue would explicitly open the door to partisan gerrymandering.
In addition, the amendment would allow congressional maps to be redrawn in the middle of the decade rather than waiting until after the next census, potentially paving the way for new district boundaries before the 2028 presidential election.
Democrats currently hold 19 of New York’s 26 congressional seats, but many party strategists see an opportunity to expand that advantage through redistricting.
The effort comes as part of a broader national battle over congressional maps.
Republican-led states including Texas, Florida, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama have all explored or implemented redistricting changes designed to strengthen GOP representation ahead of future elections. In response, Democrats in states such as California, Virginia, and now New York have pursued similar strategies.
To many political leaders, it is simple hardball politics.
To Paterson, it is something much more dangerous.
“Partisan redistricting,” he warned, is “dividing our country almost the way it was before the Civil War.”
Paterson was careful to spread the blame across both parties, arguing that Democrats and Republicans alike have embraced gerrymandering whenever it serves their interests.
“It’s interfering with one of the most fabled ways that we have moved ahead of other countries,” he said, “by really having a democratic process, where people vote their conscience and not their party.”
His concern goes beyond electoral maps.
Paterson argued that the growing tendency of states to redraw districts for political advantage is contributing to a broader breakdown in civic life, creating increasingly isolated political tribes that rarely interact and almost never trust one another.
“We’re moving toward a society that is going to be Balkanized,” he said.
“We’re not going to really understand each other. We’re not going to work with each other.”
The former governor warned that the constant cycle of partisan retaliation—where one party redraws maps and the other responds in kind whenever it gains power—could have long-term consequences that extend far beyond election results.
“We’re going to make presumptions about people or ideas that are really going to injure the process of a country that for so many years has led the world in terms of invention, in terms of opportunity, in terms of a way to run a government without people being abused by it,” Paterson said.
The amendment still faces a lengthy path before becoming law. Democratic lawmakers passed the initial measure before ending the legislative session, but they must approve it again next year before placing it before voters as a statewide referendum in November 2027.
Given Democrats’ overwhelming advantage in both legislative chambers and New York’s substantial Democratic voter registration edge, supporters are optimistic about its prospects.
Paterson, however, sees the issue as larger than any single election cycle.
“If we’re unlucky and this continues for too much longer,” he warned, “we’re going to be in a dire, dire situation.”
