Holder Statement on North Carolina Trial Court Decision on Congressional, State Senate Maps

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Brooke Lillard
lillard@redistrictingfoundation.org

Holder Statement on North Carolina Trial Court Decision on Congressional, State Senate Maps

Washington, D.C. — Today, Eric H. Holder, Jr., the 82nd Attorney General of the United States, released the following statement in response to a North Carolina trial court decision in Harper v. Hall to adopt a fair congressional map and the Republican-gerrymandered state Senate map: 

 “Although the entirety of the trial court’s decision was not perfect, it made significant progress for North Carolinians’ representation in Congress. Instead of accepting the gerrymandered map drawn by the Republican legislature, the trial court adopted a congressional map that gives North Carolinians the ability to vote in truly fair congressional districts that accurately reflect the competitive nature of the state, where both parties have the ability to represent an equal number of congressional districts. We will oppose any efforts to undo this progress. 

“In contrast to the trial court’s reasonable approach to the congressional map, however, the court adopted a flawed state Senate map that would create an artificial Republican advantage. A competitive state like North Carolina should have congressional and state maps that allow both parties to compete for equal representation.   

“This redistricting cycle, North Carolina Republicans arrogantly tried not once but twice to enact heavily gerrymandered congressional and state Senate maps. They did this because they thought they could use an anti-democracy process and simply ignore a state Supreme Court order. But they have not – and will not – win. They have underestimated the strength of the law, and the determination of the people, to defeat their unjust efforts.”

In response to the trial court’s order to uphold the Republican defendants’ gerrymandered state Senate map, the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF)-supported Harper plaintiffs filed an emergency motion to stay the state Senate map to the North Carolina Supreme Court. The emergency motion asks the supreme court to stop the use of the enacted Senate plan, which does not adhere to the North Carolina Constitution’s requirement of partisan symmetry. Instead, the state Senate map would only allow Republicans to attain the Senate majority, despite the fact that North Carolina is a 50-50 state. 

Read the full brief here.

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