In April, the nation’s highest court sent the North Carolina redistricting case back to the N.C. Supreme Court with short instruction: Reconsider the case in light of the USA court’s March ruling in an Alabama redistricting case.
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The maps helped Republicans expand their majorities at the General Assembly and in the state’s congressional delegation.
The N.C. Supreme Court on Friday issued a ruling upholding the legislative and congressional districts for this decade.
The state supreme court ruling also found that three of the cases should have been heard separately, he noted. On Friday, the NC Supreme Court vacated the judge’s decision, meaning the prisoners will have to present their cases again.
And that ruling is what led the U.S. Supreme Court to return to North Carolina’s high court the gerrymandering case for review. They said the Alabama decision affirmed their arguments that GOP mapmakers created too many unnecessary and irregularly shaped majority-black districts that amounted to racial gerrymandering. “… We are confident that we will prevail and that North Carolinians will finally get fair and legal districts from which to elect their representatives”. Writing for the majority, Justice Paul Newby said North Carolina lawmakers didn’t increase percentages greater than necessary.
The plaintiffs say they’ll appeal.
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Those who sued said that under previous maps black voters already were able to choose their preferred candidates in districts where the black vote was under 50 percent. Ervin, Hudson and Beasley are all registered Democrats.
