Lawsuit claims new NC districts discriminate against minority voters

A group of Black and Latino voters in North Carolina filed a lawsuit Monday to stop the state’s newly drawn congressional districts, arguing the new maps discriminate against minority voters.

The suit, filed Monday in a U.S. District Court in North Carolina against several state lawmakers and election officials, claimed the state General Assembly’s newly approved congressional maps “entrenches the state’s white majority and erases the gains made by voters of color in the 2020 and 2022 election cycles.”

The plaintiffs argue North Carolina received another congressional district “almost entirely” due to the state’s increased minority population in the 2020 census, but state lawmakers chose to take away the voting power of such groups.

“But instead of granting [minority] voters the benefit of the state’s increased representation, the General Assembly majority capitalized on that gain to increase their own power and decrease voting power,” the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit argues the new maps “intentionally” discriminate against minority voters and violate the 14th Amendment, which grants “equal protection” to all citizens, as well as the 15th Amendment, which granted the right to vote for all U.S. citizens, including those of color.

The plaintiffs are asking a judge to declare North Carolina’s Districts 1, 6, 12 and 14 as unconstitutional racial gerrymanders.

Defendants named on the suit include state Rep. Destin Hall (R), the chair of the House Standing Committee on Redistricting, along with state Sens. Warren Daniel (R), Ralph Hise Jr. (R) and Paul Newton (R), who all serve as co-chairs of the state Senate Committee on Redistricting and Elections. Several other state and election leaders are also named as defendants.

North Carolina’s new congressional maps in question were approved by the GOP-led state Legislature in October. The new maps could cause 10 of the state’s 14 U.S. House districts to tilt towards Republicans, The Hill previously reported, citing multiple analyses.

This would mark a major shift from the 2022 elections, in which North Carolina’s U.S. congressional delegation won an even number of seats among parties, including seven Democrats and seven Republicans. The 2022 election used an interim congressional plan drawn by trial judges while lawmakers worked to create new voting maps.

The North Carolina Supreme Court, which had a Democratic majority at the time, previously struck down the GOP-controlled General Assembly’s congressional and legislative maps drawn out in the fall of 2021, arguing they went against the state constitution’s prohibition of extensive partisan gerrymandering.

The newest approved maps have already drawn criticism from some leaders and other legal challenges, including a suit filed last month against the North Carolina State Board of Elections, the president of the state Senate and Speaker of the state House of Representatives alleging the new Senate districts violate the Voting Rights Act.

Following the maps’ approval in October, freshman Rep. Jeff Jackson (D-N.C.) also announced he would not run for reelection for his seat in 2024 and would instead run for North Carolina’s attorney general. Jackson called the new lines “blatant corruption” and claimed he was “drawn out” of his district “by a small group of politicians.”