Federal Court Strikes Down GOP Gerrymandered North Carolina Map Again

A bit of good news to share from earlier this week.

A federal court in North Carolina ruled for the second time this year that the state’s congressional map was drawn to so severely benefit Republicans that it violates the Constitution.

The court held on Monday that North Carolina’s congressional map violates Article I, the First Amendment and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.

The court said the map violated the 14th Amendment because it treated voters differently, depending on their political preferences. The panel also said the map violated the First Amendment because it made it more difficult for politically engaged groups and voters with certain political beliefs to elect their preferred candidates. 

Why was this ruling needed for a second time?

A three-judge panel reached an identical conclusion in January, but after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in two separate partisan gerrymandering cases, it sent the North Carolina case back to the lower court for further consideration.

U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit wrote.... “In particular, such Plaintiffs introduced evidence establishing that each of their districts is ‘packed or cracked’ and, as a result, that their votes ‘carry less weight than [they] would carry in another, hypothetical district.’”

Good ole fashioned Republican gerrymandering -- a tradition they love more than the flag. What now?

The decision is significant because North Carolina is one of the most severely gerrymandered states in the country, with Republicans consistently controlling 10 of the state’s 13 congressional seats since 2012.

Gerrymandering reform advocates believe the case presents one of the best opportunities for the U.S. Supreme Court to place a limit on partisan gerrymandering because the evidence of Republicans’ intent to gerrymander is so clear. A key Republican involved in drawing the congressional map in 2012 said he wanted a 10-3 GOP delegation because he did not think it was possible to draw one that was 11-2 in favor of Republicans.

Unfortunately, these Republicans will do every single thing to maintain power and that includes appealing this to a Supreme Court that could soon be dominated by five Republicans zealots.

The court highlighted that the current North Carolina congressional map has been in place for six years and notably left open the possibility of implementing a new congressional map for this year’s midterm elections. Noting that North Carolina Republicans have dragged their feet in drawing previous court-ordered fixes to the map, the court declined to say whether it would afford lawmakers the opportunity this time around but said it would give lawmakers until Sept. 17.

Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/north-carolina-congressional-map_us_5b847318e4b0511db3d0d0cf