Read the ruling and dissent in NC’s redistricting case, and see the maps
The North Carolina Supreme Court overturned the state’s congressional and legislative district maps, in a ruling Friday night that made national news.
The justices ruled 4-3 that the maps drawn by the Republican-led General Assembly were so skewed in their party’s favor that they violated the state constitution. The court’s Democratic majority ruled against the maps, while the Republicans on the court dissented and said they would have allowed the maps to stand.
The ruling and the dissent are only about 20 pages combined, relatively short for such a high-profile court order, although the judges said they will release a more detailed opinion soon.
The maps “are unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt under the free elections clause, the equal protection clause, the free speech clause and the freedom of assembly clause of North Carolina’s constitution,” the ruling says.
U.S. Rep. GK Butterfield, a Democrat from Wilson who is not seeking re-election this year, said during an interview last month that there’s a good reason for the national attention on the case — North Carolina could be the state that determines which party controls the House of Representatives for the second half of Democratic President Joe Biden’s first term, and potentially longer.
“Right now Republicans are down four seats in the United States House, and they see opportunities to pick up three seats in North Carolina,” Butterfield said during an interview for a News & Observer article on how the maps would have disadvantaged Black politicians in North Carolina.
The state’s congressional delegation currently has an 8-5 Republican lean. The new maps, before they were struck down Friday, would have given Republicans a likely 10-4 or 11-3 advantage.
Here are the maps for U.S. House, N.C. House and N.C. Senate, which the court has now ruled unconstitutional.
Congressional map:
State Senate:
State House:
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at link.chtbl.com/underthedomenc or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 8:14 PM with the headline "Read the ruling and dissent in NC’s redistricting case, and see the maps."
