For the second time in as many weeks, the United States Supreme Court has issued a directive regarding voting maps in North Carolina.
The nation’s high court, on Tuesday, ordered the state Supreme Court to once again consider a 2011 lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s legislative voting map used to elect members of the General Assembly.
This will be the third time the state’s highest court will hear the case. The lawsuit challenged the districts claiming that too many African-American voters were packed into districts to lessen their voting power in other races.
The two previous times the court ultimately ruled the maps were constitutional. But the makeup of the court has shifted with new justices elected this past November.
The new directive from the US Supreme Court to the state comes after the federal judiciary ruled two of North Carolina’s 13 Congressional districts were unconstitutional for similar reasons that were being argued in the state-level districts.
Anita Earls is the executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, represents plaintiffs in the case.
“In light of Cooper v. Harris, our clients are hopeful that the N.C. Supreme Court will follow federal law and recognize these districts for what they are: unconstitutional racial gerrymanders,” Earls said in a statement. “The North Carolina Supreme Court should take action swiftly to require the immediate implementation of fair districts for all North Carolina voters.”
The legislative maps were ruled unconstitutional by a federal court in August 2016 before being appealed to the US Supreme Court.
There is no timeline for when the state’s highest court will hear the case for the third time.
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