Eric Holder: North Carolina Supreme Court’s Decision Underscores Importance of Protecting Our System of Checks and Balances

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Jena Doyle
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Eric Holder: North Carolina Supreme Court’s Decision Underscores Importance of Protecting Our System of Checks and Balances

The State Court Decision Delivers Fair State Senate Map, Could Influence SCOTUS Decision in Moore v. Harper

Washington, D.C. —  Today, the North Carolina Supreme Court struck down the state’s Senate map as a partisan gerrymander and affirmed a lower trial court’s enactment of a fair congressional map that was used in the 2022 election. This case was a state court appeal of Harper v. Hall, a landmark lawsuit, initiated by the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF),  that struck down the Republican-drawn congressional and state legislative maps in February 2022, and ultimately led to a court-adopted congressional map. In the current appeal, the NRF-supported Harper plaintiffs challenged the state Senate map as a partisan gerrymander and defended the fair congressional map against a Republican challenge. In both cases, the NRF succeeded.

Notably, today’s North Carolina Supreme Court decision could influence the outcome of Moore v. Harper, a federal appeal of Harper v. Hall that will be decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. This is due to the fact that the North Carolina Supreme Court clarified its role under state law as a check over the state legislature when it comes to redistricting, and, as a result, the Supreme Court of the United States will have to be held to that interpretation as it comes to a decision in Moore v. Harper. 

“This is a victory for North Carolina voters, who will now have both fair congressional and state legislative maps,” said Eric Holder, the 82nd Attorney General of the United States. “This decision not only cements important legal precedent in state court – something that any future court will have to consider in redistricting cases going forward – it also underscores the fact that our system of checks and balances must remain intact. This is exactly how our democracy is supposed to work. As a result, a highly competitive, 50-50 state will have congressional and state legislative maps that reflect the will of the people. These are neither Democratic nor Republican maps, these are competitive maps that reflect the competitive nature of North Carolina.” 

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