New York’s congressional map unconstitutionally “dilutes Black and Latino voting strength” in the Empire State’s Republican-held 11th District and should be redrawn, according to a lawsuit filed by Democratic super lawyer Marc Elias’ firm on Monday.
The district includes all of Staten Island and southern parts of Brooklyn and is represented by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), who slammed the lawsuit as a “frivolous” attempt to “upend” New York’s congressional boundaries.
The case, filed by the Elias Law Group on behalf of four voters, comes as heated redistricting battles have played out in several states in recent months as both parties attempt to gain a partisan edge ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
“Black and Latino Staten Islanders have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to elect a representative of their choice and influence elections in New York’s 11th Congressional District … in violation of the prohibition against racial vote dilution in Article III, Section 4(c)(1) of the New York Constitution,” the lawsuit argues.
Elias’ firm contends that New York’s current congressional map, implemented in February 2024, “still perpetuates a fatal substantive defect: it dilutes Black and Latino voting strength” in District 11.
The lawsuit alleges the district was drawn without taking into account a rise in Staten Island’s black and Latino population and drop in the borough’s white population.
“From 1980 to 2020, the combined Black and Latino population on the Island climbed from approximately 11% to nearly 30%,” the lawsuit stated. “During the same period, the Island’s white population dropped from 85% to 56%, meaning racial minorities have been a significant driver of Staten Island’s population growth in recent years.
“However, the current configuration of CD-11 does not account for these demographic changes or modern communities of interest.”
To fix the alleged problem, the lawyers for the plaintiffs call for reconfiguring the 11th District to include parts of lower Manhattan, which leans more Democratic.
“Here we go again…” Malliotakis, the only GOP representative of New York City in Congress, wrote on X. “Another frivolous lawsuit trying to upend our congressional district in an attempt to tilt the scale to give Democrats an advantage in next year’s election.”
The congresswoman, who is the daughter of immigrants from Cuba and Greece, pointed to her own heritage as an example of the “new low” Democrats are stooping to to gain an advantage in the midterms.
“To claim our independently drawn map somehow disenfranchised Hispanics and other minorities when I’m the first Hispanic & minority member elected to represent this district is a new low!” Malliotakis argued.
“We defeated them twice before and we’ll do it again,” she vowed.
New York GOP Chairman Ed Cox called the lawsuit “a naked attempt to disenfranchise voters in NY-11 and elect a Democrat to this Congressional District contrary to the will of voters.”
