Split 4-3 along party lines on Friday, the justices of the North Carolina Supreme Court deemed GOP-led redistricting maps unconstitutional and unlawful partisan gerrymanders, handing Democrats one of their biggest legal victories so far in the fight over redistricting maps.
The GOP-drawn congressional map could have given Republicans control as many as 11 of the state’s 14 districts compared to just three for Democrats. North Carolina gained the 14th congressional seat following the 2020 Census.
After the General Assembly finalized the maps in November, voting rights advocates immediately filed lawsuits that a lower court dismissed in January, saying the maps were constitutional, but the Supreme Courts Friday’s ruling overturns that decision in the latest round between the GOP-led legislature and courts.
To allow the courts to sort out the most recent dispute, the primary elections in North Carolina were moved from March to May.
The ruling, which struck down maps for both the General Assembly and North Carolina’s 14 House seats, says that the General Assembly diminished and diluted the voting power of voters affiliated with one party on the basis of party affiliation.
The Supreme Court underlined that such a plan is unconstitutional beyond a reason unless the General Assembly can demonstrate that it’s narrowly tailored to advance a compelling governmental interest and achieve a partisan advantage disproportional to a political party’s level of statewide voter support is not legitimate governmental interest.
The plans court ruled the plans unconstitutional under North Carolina’s constitution’s free elections clause, the equal protection clause, the free speech clause, and the freedom of assembly clause.
The Court’s three Republican justices dissented the decision, arguing the court’s majority seized the opportunity to advance its agenda by tossing the judicial restraint aside.
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