Federal Court Nullifies State Legislative Districts; Election Will Go On As Planned

A U.S. District Court ruled Thursday that more than two dozen state House and Senate districts are unconstitutional because they were racially gerrymandered.

In all, the three judge panel found that 28 districts were in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Writing for the court, Circuit Judge James A. Wynn, Jr. said the state had not made a compelling case that it needed to use race when it redrew district maps in 2011.

“After careful consideration of the evidence presented, we conclude that race was the predominant factor motivating the drawing of all challenged districts,” Wynn wrote. “Moreover, Defendants have not shown that their use of race to draw any of these districts was narrowly tailored to further a compelling state interest.”

Despite the decision, the court says it recognizes the time crunch between Thursday's ruling and the November vote, and declined to require the state to redraw the districts before the general election.

“…We believe such a remedy would cause significant and undue disruption to North Carolina's election process and create considerable confusion, inconvenience, and uncertainty among voters, candidates, and election officials,” Wynn wrote.

Instead of ordering immediate changes, the court is asking the state legislature to redraw the state House and Senate districts in its next legislative session.

Thursday's decision is the latest legal defeat against state lawmakers in charge of reapportioning North Carolina's legislative districts. Earlier this year, the general assembly was forced to redraw congressional districts after a federal court struck them down.