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The U.S. Supreme Court has blocked a state court order that would have forced New York's 11th Congressional District to be redrawn before the 2026 midterm elections, clearing the way for Rep. Nicole Malliotakis to keep her current district intact.
According to SCOTUSblog, the court's conservative majority issued the unsigned order Monday night, granting an emergency appeal from Malliotakis, a group of New York voters, and state election officials. The district covers all of Staten Island and a portion of southern Brooklyn, and Malliotakis is the only Republican representing New York City in Congress.
The case began in October 2025, when a group of voters sued state election officials, arguing that the district's boundaries violated New York's constitution by diluting the voting power of Black and Latino residents, who make up roughly 30% of Staten Island's population. In late January, state trial court Justice Jeffrey Pearlman — nominated to the bench by Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul — ruled in favor of the challengers. He ordered New York's Independent Redistricting Commission to draw a new map. A state appeals court later declined to put that order on hold.
As reported by CNN, Republicans then brought an emergency appeal directly to the Supreme Court, arguing that voters were entitled to use "the lawful map that the New York Legislature adopted" and that any court-ordered redraw would amount to an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote a three-page opinion supporting the majority's decision to pause Pearlman's order. He called the lower court's directive "unadorned racial discrimination" that "blatantly discriminates on the basis of race" in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. Alito also argued that the Supreme Court had authority to step in to protect its ability to review the case, warning that waiting could make meaningful review impossible before the elections are held.
The court's three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson — dissented sharply. According to Fox News, Sotomayor accused the majority of an "unexplained about-face," saying the court routinely avoids interfering in state election law disputes — but made an exception here. "Time and again, this court has said that federal courts should not interfere with state-court litigation," Sotomayor wrote, adding that the ruling "thrusts itself into the middle of every election-law dispute around the country."
Malliotakis responded to Monday's ruling with a strongly worded statement. "Today's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to keep New York's 11th Congressional District intact helps restore the public's confidence in our judicial system and proves the challenge to our district lines was always meritless," she said. "The plaintiffs in this case attempted to manipulate our state's courts to use race as a weapon to rig our elections. That was wrong and, as demonstrated by today's ruling, clearly unconstitutional."
She also addressed her own political future directly. "Whether I serve another term in Congress is a decision for the voters, not Democrat party bosses and their high-priced lawyers," Malliotakis said.
Democrats had urged the Supreme Court to stay out of the matter, arguing it was a state law question best resolved by New York's own courts. New York's primary election is scheduled for June 23rd.
The Supreme Court case is formally known as Kosinski v. Williams. The court has yet to hear the full case on its merits — Monday's order only blocks the redistricting order while the legal challenge continues. Separately, the high court is also weighing a redistricting dispute involving Louisiana's congressional map, where a decision could come at any time.
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