State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, argues against a constitutional amendment that would allow New York to draw new congressional boundary lines at any time, potentially as soon as for the 2028 election.

New York voters will have the opportunity over the next two years to approve state Democrats’ attempts to redistrict the state’s congressional district boundaries to counteract Republican actions in other states.

The Assembly and Senate passed legislation Wednesday (A.11553A/S10637A) along party lines to ask voters to approve an amendment that would erase constitutional language prohibiting gerrymandering based on political party and incumbency while allowing New York to participate in mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2028 election. The proposed amendment leaves the state’s Independent Redistricting Commission in place but places tighter deadlines on its redistricting plans. It also allows maps to be passed by a simple majority in the legislature.

The state Legislature needs to approve the legislation again in 2027 so that a referendum vote can take place in the November 2027 statewide election. If passed by voters, Democrats could begin tweaking districts for the 2028 elections.

The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year rejected an effort from Democrats to throw out the lines of the only congressional seat in New York City controlled by a Republican.

Thursday’s state Legislature vote is the latest in a series of volleys across the country between Republicans and Democrats as they vie for congressional district lines that are the most advantageous to their party in the 2026 and 2028 elections. The redistricting flurry began after President Donald Trump urged Republicans to use whatever tools at their disposal to craft lines that could help the GOP hold on to its narrow House majority in November’s midterm elections. Democrats moved to counter with their own efforts in different states, but were at times hamstrung by rules meant to prevent partisan gerrymandering.

“So here is what I have heard,” state Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, said during comments on the bill Wednesday on the state Senate floor. “I have heard that there is this battle that is happening in other states and that New York state needs to just trash what the voters of New York have twice said they wanted – an independent redistricting commission – because, quite frankly, gerrymandering, the idea of gerrymandering, repulses most people. Most rank and file people, they don’t like that idea. … What you’re saying is we have to enter this fight. That we have to fight fire with fire. That it doesn’t matter what the people of New York state want, what is in their best interests, we have to enter this fight because something else was done unjustly. You know what? I don’t necessarily agree with what other states have done. Quite frankly that’s not my concern here. My concern is to watch out for the best interests of the people in my district and, in turn, the people of New York state. That is my job here, and everyone’s job here.”

New York voters approved a constitutional amendment creating an independent redistricting commission in 2014 after a messy redistricting after the 2010 census. The process didn’t work much better when the state redistricted following the 2020 census, prompting Democrats to push for a second constitutional amendment to make it easier to pass redistricting plans. Voters voted that proposal down at the polls in 2021. Unsatisfied with the redistricting maps approved by the Independent Redistricting Commission, Democrats then drew their own maps in 2024 aimed at helping the party pick up additional congressional seats. That map was ruled unconstitutional because it didn’t follow the state’s redistricting laws.

“We cannot possibly be going against the will of the voters by doing this because the voters will have their say,” Sen. Michael Gianaris, D-Astoria and Senate majority leader, said during his floor debate with Borrello on Wednesday. If they don’t like it and it is against their will, they will reject it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.