NC Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Common Cause and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice

The League of Women Voters of North Carolina wishes to congratulate Common Cause and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, as the NC Supreme Court has announced its ruling in the redistricting trial. The Court ruled late yesterday that the maps enacted last year by the state legislature are “unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt.” The ruling gives the legislature until February 18 to draw new maps. They must be adopted by February 23.  

You can read the 20-page opinion here. A longer opinion will be issued later.

The lawsuit, brought by SCSJ on behalf of Common Cause NC, protested the General Assembly’s decision not to use race-related data and not analyze racially polarized voting. The Court held against the General Assembly as follows: “The General Assembly must assess whether racially polarized voting is legally sufficient in any area of the state such that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act requires the drawing of districts to avoid diluting the voting strength of African American voters.” You may recall that in statements made in the hearings before map drawing began, Leaguers said many times that the NCGA should not include race data that would harm people of color. Thankfully, the Supreme Court of this state has agreed.

“Congratulations to our partners on their successful endeavor of protecting ALL our voters in North Carolina,” said Jo Nicholas, LWVNC President. “The maps that were drawn did not work for all voters. We are proud to stand with Common Cause and SCSJ to correct this horrible injustice related to our voting rights.”

For more information, see coverage from the News and Observer and WRAL.