Judges rule North Carolina's gerrymandered map is unconstitutional, may have to be redrawn by November

A gavel.
(Image credit: iStock)

A three-judge federal panel ruled on Monday that because North Carolina's congressional districts were unconstitutionally gerrymandered to benefit Republicans over Democrats, new districts may have to be drawn ahead of the November elections.

North Carolina legislators put together a map where 10 of the state's 13 U.S. House districts are held by Republicans, and the federal judges said they are wary of giving lawmakers there another chance at drawing the congressional districts. Federal courts have twice ruled already that the districts violate parts of the Constitution, and the judges said that although North Carolina voters have already chosen candidates through primary elections, the court is not entirely comfortable allowing voting to take place in November with the current map.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.