CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The first challenge to North Carolina’s most recent round of redistricting is here, this time challenging the new state senate district map.
Two men, who are Black and from northeastern North Carolina, are suing the state in federal court, trying to block the map from going into effect. They claim that the new Senate map dilutes Black voting power in the northeastern part of the state, which has a large Black population.
The plaintiffs argue that the map constitutes an illegal racial gerrymander and violates the Voting Rights Act. They say it breaks up majority-Black communities into different districts instead of creating one majority-minority district, a strategy known as cracking. North Carolina’s eight Black-majority counties are split between four districts in the new map.
On Monday, a federal judge denied a request to expedite the trial. The plaintiffs were seeking an injunction to keep the maps from going into effect before candidate filing begins on December 1st.
More lawsuits challenging the maps are expected. Importantly, on Monday, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Voting Rights Act lawsuits cannot be brought by individuals. As of now, the ruling only affects states in the Eighth Circuit, which stretches from North Dakota to Arkansas. But, the case in North Carolina could be affected if the US Supreme Court takes up the case.