North Carolina’s state legislative maps are so severely gerrymandered to benefit Republicans that they violate the state’s Constitution, a panel of three judges ruled Tuesday.
The ruling came in a closely watched case in North Carolina state court. State lawmakers have until Sept. 18 to draw new districts, the court said, and they won’t be allowed to take into account any data about election results. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal courts can’t do anything to stop partisan gerrymandering. But activists believe litigation in state courts could offer a way to challenge partisan gerrymandering ― an idea that Tuesday’s ruling seems to bear out.
North Carolina Republicans controlled the redistricting process in the state in 2011, and drew congressional and state legislative district lines that significantly benefited GOP lawmakers. Republicans were consistently able to win more than 60% of the seats in both of the state’s legislative chambers despite only winning about half of the statewide vote. They enjoyed that veto-proof majority until 2018, when Democrats broke it.