Challenging NC GOP Boundaries: The Fight for Fair Elections

North Carolina Redistricting Lawsuit – A New Approach

RALEIGH, N.C. – A fresh legal challenge questioning the fairness of the North Carolina district lines for Congress and the state legislature is making waves. This lawsuit, which emerged this year, is striving to overturn redistricting maps that are believed to have been manipulated for political advantage.

The plaintiffs’ demands

A group of roughly ten voters are plaintiffs in this lawsuit which was lodged in Wake County Superior Court on a recent Wednesday. The complainants are urging judges to recognize the state constitution’s right to “fair” elections. They also demand that a number of congressional and General Assembly districts that they believe infringe on this right be overhauled and redrawn.

Attempting to circumvent past rulings

The legal battle seeks to challenge previous decisions by federal and North Carolina courts that judges cannot declare redistricting maps as unlawful partisan gerrymanders due to excessive line manipulation by one party to secure more election victories. This latest lawsuit attempts to sidestep those rulings in North Carolina courtrooms.

The North Carolina constitution and fair elections

While the North Carolina Constitution doesn’t explicitly mention a right to fair elections, it does mandate that elections “shall be frequently held” and that “all elections shall be free.”

Bob Orr, a former state Supreme Court justice and the lead attorney for the plaintiffs, argues that when coupled with a provision stating people have many other unnamed rights, it can be argued that fair elections also constitute a constitutional entitlement.

Orr stated, “The primary goal of this lawsuit is to affirmatively establish that citizens do have a right to fair elections and that populating districts with voters who favor your side infringes on this right. What is the utility of free elections if they aren’t fair, or what is the purpose of regular elections if they aren’t fair?”

Controversy over GOP mapmaking

Democrats and other groups have criticized GOP mapmakers for implementing district lines last October that strategically included and excluded voter blocs to bolster Republican chances of maintaining veto-proof majorities in the General Assembly and making it nearly impossible for three incumbent Democratic members of Congress to secure reelection. All three of them opted not to seek reelection.

The lawsuit’s specific charges

The lawsuit elaborates how the redrawing of lines for the 6th, 13th, and 14th Congressional Districts, a Wilmington-area state Senate district, and a Charlotte-area state House district violated the right to free elections.

The potential outcome of the lawsuit

The case will be examined before a three-judge panel appointed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby. It could ultimately land in front of the Supreme Court, where Republicans occupy five of the seven seats and last year agreed that the state constitution did not limit the practice of drafting maps with partisan gain in mind. This ruling reversed a 2022 decision by a state Supreme Court that had a Democratic majority.

While the lawsuit seeks changes in time for the 2024 elections, resolving the case before the fall would appear to be a heavy lift.

Republican leaders among the defendants

Republican legislative leaders are among the defendants in the lawsuit. These GOP lawmakers argue that their maps were lawfully drawn by adhering to long-established redistricting principles and avoiding the use of racial data in their creation.

Orr, a one-time Republican candidate for governor who is now an unaffiliated voter, stated that this lawsuit differs from previous partisan gerrymandering claims, which partially relied on other sections of the state constitution.

Orr emphasized that the focus is not on past arguments that one political party designed districts that positioned their candidates to win a disproportionate number of seats relative to the party’s share of the electorate. Rather, he said, the aim is to safeguard the rights of individual voters, who, with fair elections, are granted the power to impose limits on their government.

The lawsuit states: “When there is an intentional aggregation and apportionment of voters in a district that tilts the election toward one political party or candidate and thus, potentially preordains the outcome of an election, then a “fair” election cannot occur and the constitutional rights of the voters have been violated.” The lawsuit proposes a three-tier standard to define what constitutes a fair election.

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