NC Redistricting Halted By Court: Read It For Yourself
The North Carolina Supreme Court has put a halt to NC redistricting in a 4-3 decision…at least, for the moment.
The North Carolina Supreme Court on Friday struck down new voting maps Republicans passed in November and ordered them redrawn—a decision that could help Democrats in the 2022 election cycle and prevent Republicans from expanding their power in the U.S. House and the North Carolina General Assembly.
The high court issued a 4-3 decision split along party lines—overturning a lower-court decision last month that upheld the maps and resolving a question that has been hanging over the primary election, which had already been delayed so the court system could hear the challenge from voting groups.
The maps outlining congressional and legislative districts in the state strongly favored the GOP, with the party expected to win 10 or 11 of the 14 U.S. House seats up for grabs. The maps, drawn by the legislature’s GOP majority, also gave Republicans a better chance of securing veto-proof majorities in the state House and Senate.
“When a districting plan systematically makes it harder for one group of voters to elect a governing majority than another group of voters of equal size, the General Assembly unconstitutionally infringes upon that voter’s fundamental right to vote,” the four registered Democrats on the state Supreme Court wrote in their order.
The court ruled that Republicans must submit new voting maps to a lower court by 5 p.m. Feb. 18. The maps must then be approved by a three-judge panel by noon on Feb. 23. If the new legislative and congressional boundaries are not submitted in time, the judges would be tasked with selecting a plan.
State Sen. Ralph Hise, a western North Carolina Republican who co-led the map-drawing process, criticized the court’s decision, arguing that the justices set a precedent that will be difficult to unwind. Hise was one of several Republican leaders named in the lawsuit brought by voter rights groups, who said the GOP’s maps violated North Carolinians’ rights to a free election and equal protection under the law.
“Democratic judges, lawyers, and activists have worked in concert to transform the Supreme Court into a policymaking body to impose their political ideas,” Hise said in a statement.
The state Supreme Court’s ruling says election officials should expect to have districts finalized by Feb. 23 and primaries held as planned on May 17.
“We will work to comply with the schedule and administer elections in the new districts,” said Pat Gannon, a spokesman for the State Board of Elections.
Read NC redistricting ruling from the North Carolina Supreme Court for yourself here:
NC Redistricting
