North Carolina Voters Challenge Gerrymandered General Assembly Maps with Support of National Redistricting Foundation

For Immediate Release:
December 13, 2021
Contact:
Brooke Lillard
lillard@redistrictingfoundation.org

Washington, D.C. — With the support of the National Redistricting Foundation (NRF), North Carolina voters have filed an amended complaint in Harper v. Hall asking the court to strike down the newly-enacted general assembly maps – in addition to the existing request the plaintiffs have made to strike down the congressional map – as partisan gerrymanders in violation of the Free Elections, Equal Protection, and Freedom of Speech and Assembly Clauses of the North Carolina Constitution.

“In a highly competitive state, these egregious maps pack and crack North Carolina voters to entrench a manufactured advantage for Republicans, in violation of the state constitution,” said Marina Jenkins, Director of Litigation and Policy for the NRF. “Republican map drawers were clearly more focused on achieving artificial majorities in both chambers of the North Carolina General Assembly than they were on producing a map that actually reflects the will of the people.”

The general assembly maps are intentional, extreme partisan gerrymanders that dilute Democratic votes and prevent Democratic voters from electing candidates of their choice. The Senate map creates an artificial Republican advantage by packing Democrats in urban centers including Wake, Mecklenburg, Cumberland, Guilford, and Forsyth Counties. The House map also cracks and packs Democratic voters in every corner of the state, locking in durable Republican majorities regardless of the political environment.

You can find the amended complaint here.

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