Groups sue GOP leaders over NC’s 2024 electoral maps, alleging racial gerrymandering
The N.C. NAACP and Common Cause sued Republican leaders over all three of the state’s new electoral maps Tuesday, arguing they illegally dilute the votes of Black residents.
The complaint, filed in federal court by lawyers with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, claims Republicans specifically targeted Black voters across the state to diminish their voting power.
“We are thankful for the opportunity to try and right the wrongs of discrimination of people of color voting in the state of North Carolina,” NAACP President Deborah Maxwell said at a news conference. “Everyone’s vote should count equally, and there are people determined to make sure that Black votes are discounted.”
Unlike other lawsuits filed against the new maps in recent months, this complaint challenges the districts for the U.S. House and the state legislature all at once.
What the GOP Is saying: “It’s telling that the plaintiffs had to go all the way to San Francisco to find an attorney liberal enough to file this frivolous lawsuit two months after the new maps were introduced,” Lauren Horsch, a spokesperson for Senate leader Phil Berger said in an email to The News & Observer.
Three of the 11 lawyers listed in the complaint are based in San Francisco; four are based in Durham.
Could NAACP lawsuit affect 2024 races?
The timing: With the primary election only months away, it may be too late for any redistricting lawsuits to impact 2024.
Candidate filing ended last week, meaning candidates are now officially running in the map districts that this lawsuit and two others seek to block. If a judge does strike down one or more of the new maps, the judge could decide to set a new filing date for the candidates running in the affected districts.
The request: Plaintiffs asked the court to order a remedial process to create new districts “for use no later than the 2026 general election and beyond.”
Republicans passed new maps for legislative and congressional races in October which are expected to gain the GOP at least three new seats in the U.S. House and potentially solidify their supermajority in the General Assembly.
Plaintiffs noted that Republican leaders waited five months to begin the redistricting process after announcing plans to draw new maps.
“This delay was a significant, intentional procedural deviation, designed specifically to narrow the likelihood of any preenforcement judicial review or remediation of the 2023 Plans before the 2024 elections,” the lawsuit said.
3rd lawsuit to challenge GOP redistricting plan
This is the third lawsuit targeting the GOP-led redistricting plan, all of which argue that the maps illegally weaken the voting power of non-white residents. Tuesday’s lawsuit is unique, however, in that it seeks to block all three new maps (state House, state Senate and U.S. House) instead of only one.
Partisan gerrymandering: Due to recent decisions from conservative courts at the state and federal levels, partisan gerrymandering is no longer a valid legal challenge. During the redistricting process this year, Republicans were open about drawing maps that benefited their party, while stressing that they did so within legal bounds.
Racial gerrymandering: While courts won’t rule on partisan gerrymandering, racial gerrymandering is still illegal under federal law. The federal Voting Rights Act prohibits any election law that discriminates based on race, and the U.S. Supreme Court recently agreed with plaintiffs in Alabama who argued that the state’s electoral maps unlawfully diluted the votes of Black residents.
This story was originally published December 19, 2023 at 9:52 AM.
