North Carolina Supreme Court Approves New Voting Maps for 2022 Election

Late last night, the state Supreme Court approved state Senate and House maps and unanimously rejected the gerrymandered Congressional map – choosing one drawn by a special expert. 

The newly drawn congressional map, crafted through a bipartisan effort, is an improvement over the GOP’s original map while the state legislative voting districts remain skewed towards a Republican advantage. 

• In response to the court’s approval of the state Senate and House maps, Governor Roy Cooper stated that the “decision allows a blatantly unfair and unconstitutional state Senate map that may have been the worst of the bunch..That is bad for North Carolina because it strips voters of their voice in our democracy”.
  
• “It’s crucial that our state’s voting districts respect the right of all North Carolina voters to have an equal voice in our elections. The NC Senate and NC House districts submitted by the legislature continue to contain discriminatory gerrymanders, which would especially hurt Black North Carolinians,” stated Bob Phillips, Executive Director at Common Cause NC.

Historically, maps crafted by Republicans have been repeatedly rejected by Republican and Democratic judges at nearly all levels of the judiciary.

Yesterday’s ruling solidifies yet another year of maps having to bounce around the courts due to state Republicans’ unyielding efforts to pick their voters. 

Instead of doing right by North Carolina voters out the gate, Republicans chose to dabble in what they know best; focusing on political gain over the interests of North Carolinians.