New York judge approves new congressional maps

A state judge late Friday finalized the state's new congressional maps early, setting off a scramble among lawmakers and congressional candidates to figure out their districts – or what districts to run in. 

State Judge Patrick McAllister released the new maps just before the midnight Saturday deadline. It followed a chaotic week in New York politics after Jonathan Cervis, a special master appointed by the court, released a draft map that was less favorable to Democrats than the one drawn by the Democratic-controlled legislature. The state Supreme Court had appointed Cervis after throwing out those maps earlier this year.

Cervis made a few changes in the final maps released late Friday, but the new map still only has 15 safe Democratic districts, three safe Republican districts and eight competitive districts. New York's current congressional delegation has 19 Democrats and eight Republicans, and the state is losing a seat due to the population loss in the 2020 census.