NC Congressional Districts struck down as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders
January 09, 2018 05:45 PM
RALEIGH
A panel of federal judges struck down North Carolina’s election districts for U.S. Congress on Tuesday as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders and gave lawmakers until Jan. 29 to bring them new maps to correct the problem.The ruling comes in cases filed by the League of Women Voters and Common Cause in North Carolina stemming from maps adopted in 2016 during a special legislative session. It throws a new wrinkle and more uncertainty into the 2018 election cycle in North Carolina a month before candidates were scheduled to file for office.“We’re enormously gratified on behalf of our clients and all voters in North Carolina that no one will have to endure another congressional election under an unconstitutional map,” said Allison Riggs, senior voting rights attorney for the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, which represented some of the challengers. “The court was clear in demanding a real remedy before the 2018 elections, and we expect the General Assembly to respect that order.”