North Carolina judges block GOP-drawn congressional districts as likely illegal partisan gerrymander

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

A panel of three North Carolina superior court judges temporarily blocked the state's Republican-drawn congressional map Monday, ruling that plaintiffs have a "substantial likelihood" of proving the current districts "are extreme partisan gerrymanders" in violation of the state constitution. The three judges in Wake County Superior Court said North Carolina can't use the current map in the 2020 election cycle, starting with the March 3 primary, but did not give a firm deadline for the new maps to be drawn.

The judges encouraged North Carolina's GOP-controlled legislature to redraw the map on its own, presumably by the Dec. 15 deadline set out by the State Board of Elections. Just two months ago, the same three judges threw out state legislative districts due to extreme partisan gerrymandering. The congressional map lawsuit, filed Sept. 27 by a group of Democratic and independent voters, is likely to succeed because the evidence will be similar in both cases, the judges said.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.