NY Lawsuit Targets CD-11 Over Racial Vote Dilution

Four New Yorkers, represented by the Elias Law Group and partner counsel, filed a lawsuit Monday in Manhattan Supreme Court challenging New York’s 2024 congressional map, arguing it unlawfully dilutes Black and Latino voting power in the 11th Congressional District, which covers Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn. The complaint cites decades of demographic change on Staten Island — the white share falling from about 85% to 56% while combined Black and Latino population rose from roughly 11% to nearly 30% — and says the map violates New York’s new Voting Rights Act. Plaintiffs ask the court to redraw CD‑11 to pair Staten Island’s north shore with lower Manhattan to create a minority‑influence district and say changes could affect the 2026 midterms. The suit names state officials including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James and targets the seat held by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis. Legal and constitutional hurdles remain, including New York’s redistricting rules and recent court interventions that produced replacement maps in 2022, so success is uncertain.