水果派AV

The 10-member panel voted Thursday to send the new map to the state Legislature. Lawmakers will have the final say on whether to adopt the plan or make changes.聽

If the map is approved, it would make changes to the existing 22nd Congressional District represented by Congressman Brandon Williams, a Republican.聽

The current 22nd district is comprised of Onondaga, Madison and Oneida counties, along with a sliver of Oswego County. But the new district map would drop the portion of Oswego County and split Oneida County. Part of Oneida, including the city of Utica, would remain in the 22nd district.聽

Parts of Cayuga and Cortland counties would join all of Onondaga and Madison counties in the newly drawn 22nd district.聽

For the last two years, all of Cayuga County has been part of the 24th Congressional District that extends from western New York to the North Country. The district is represented by U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, a Republican.聽

The commission's proposal would keep part of the county 鈥� the towns of Aurelius, Brutus, Cato, Conquest, Ira, Mentz, Montezuma, Sterling, Throop and Victory 鈥� in the 24th district. But towns in the southern half of the county 鈥� Fleming, Genoa, Ledyard, Locke, Moravia, Niles, Owasco, Scipio, Sempronius, Sennett, Springport, Summerhill and Venice 鈥� would join Auburn in the new 22nd district.聽

The changes to the 22nd would not affect its status as a battleground district. Democrats have identified Williams, R-Sennett, as a top 2024 target.聽

Four Democratic candidates are vying for the nomination to challenge Williams. The leading contenders are state Sen. John Mannion, who represented Auburn and a portion of Cayuga County during his first Senate term, and Sarah Klee Hood, a DeWitt town councilor and Air Force veteran.聽

Clemmie Harris, a Utica University professor, and Jake Addington, an Oneida County farmer, are also seeking the nod.聽

The redistricting commission reconvened after the state Court of Appeals, New York's highest court, ordered new maps to be drawn. The court determined the commission violated the state Constitution when it failed to submit a second congressional redistricting proposal to the state Legislature in 2022.聽

That year, the commission could not reach a consensus on congressional maps. Competiting proposals were submitted to the state Legislature for review. When lawmakers rejected those plans, the commission did not transmit any other proposed congressional district maps to the state Legislature.

Legislators took over the process and drew lines that were widely viewed as favorable for Democrats. A Republican-led lawsuit was successful and led to a court-appointed special master redrawing the congressional district maps for 2022.

Meanwhile, a separate lawsuit was filed regarding the redistricting commission's process 鈥� a challenge that resulted in the commission gathering again to submit another congressional map.聽

Ken Jenkins, a Democrat who chairs the state Independent Redistricting Commission, acknowledged it was challenging to reach a consensus on a proposed congressional map.聽

"We approached this process with the goal of seeking compromise and fulfilling our constitutional mandate," Jenkins said. "This vote is ultimately a victory for the commission's process and democratic participation in the state of New York."聽

Charles Nesbitt, the Republican vice chair of the commission, noted that members "often disagreed" while developing the proposed congressional map. But he lauded Jenkins and the entire commission for being committed to the process.聽

"We came into existence to solve these kinds of problems," Nesbitt said.聽

The commission voted 9-1 to approve the congressional map proposal and passed a second motion, again by a 9-1 vote, to submit the plan to the state Legislature. Yovan Collado cast the lone no votes.聽