Federal Judges Give Green Light for Republican-Drawn Congressional Map in North Carolina, Upholding Partisan Gains Ahead of Midterms.
A federal three-judge panel has allowed North Carolina to use a redrawn congressional map aimed at flipping a swing seat to Republicans as part of President Donald Trump's multi-state redistricting campaign. The new map takes aim at the state's only swing seat currently held by Democrat Don Davis, an African American representing over 20 counties in the north-east.
The ruling comes despite concerns from civil rights groups and voters that Republican lawmakers unconstitutionally targeted North Carolina's predominantly black "Black belt" area instead of Democratic-voting areas with higher white populations. The plaintiffs argued that this approach aimed to undermine the voting power of minority communities, but the judges disagreed.
North Carolina is not an isolated case; similar partisan gerrymandering efforts are underway in several other states, including Texas, Missouri, and Ohio, all of which have adopted new districts designed to boost Republican chances in next year's elections. Democrats need just three seats to win control of the House, and these efforts aim to limit their potential gains.
The decision marks a significant victory for Republicans in North Carolina, where they currently hold 10 of the state's 14 House seats. With this latest redistricting change, they hope to flip an additional seat in the upcoming elections. The effort comes as Trump has broken with tradition by directing Republican lawmakers to redraw maps without court intervention.
While many lower courts have blocked Trump's initiatives, the conservative majority on the US Supreme Court has put those rulings on hold. This decision covers two lawsuits: one filed by the state NAACP and Common Cause, which sought a preliminary injunction on First Amendment grounds, and another by voters who argued that using five-year-old census data and relying on race in mapmaking violates constitutional guarantees.
The ruling marks a setback for Democrats, but they continue to push back against partisan gerrymandering efforts. In California, voters have adopted new districts drawn to improve Democratic chances of winning more seats, while the Virginia general assembly has proposed a constitutional amendment aimed at addressing redistricting concerns.
With candidate filing set to begin on December 1, North Carolina's Republicans are now poised to capitalize on this partisan gerrymandering effort. As one Republican senator leader said, "The decision thwarts the radical left's latest attempt to circumvent the will of the people in a state that voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024."
A federal three-judge panel has allowed North Carolina to use a redrawn congressional map aimed at flipping a swing seat to Republicans as part of President Donald Trump's multi-state redistricting campaign. The new map takes aim at the state's only swing seat currently held by Democrat Don Davis, an African American representing over 20 counties in the north-east.
The ruling comes despite concerns from civil rights groups and voters that Republican lawmakers unconstitutionally targeted North Carolina's predominantly black "Black belt" area instead of Democratic-voting areas with higher white populations. The plaintiffs argued that this approach aimed to undermine the voting power of minority communities, but the judges disagreed.
North Carolina is not an isolated case; similar partisan gerrymandering efforts are underway in several other states, including Texas, Missouri, and Ohio, all of which have adopted new districts designed to boost Republican chances in next year's elections. Democrats need just three seats to win control of the House, and these efforts aim to limit their potential gains.
The decision marks a significant victory for Republicans in North Carolina, where they currently hold 10 of the state's 14 House seats. With this latest redistricting change, they hope to flip an additional seat in the upcoming elections. The effort comes as Trump has broken with tradition by directing Republican lawmakers to redraw maps without court intervention.
While many lower courts have blocked Trump's initiatives, the conservative majority on the US Supreme Court has put those rulings on hold. This decision covers two lawsuits: one filed by the state NAACP and Common Cause, which sought a preliminary injunction on First Amendment grounds, and another by voters who argued that using five-year-old census data and relying on race in mapmaking violates constitutional guarantees.
The ruling marks a setback for Democrats, but they continue to push back against partisan gerrymandering efforts. In California, voters have adopted new districts drawn to improve Democratic chances of winning more seats, while the Virginia general assembly has proposed a constitutional amendment aimed at addressing redistricting concerns.
With candidate filing set to begin on December 1, North Carolina's Republicans are now poised to capitalize on this partisan gerrymandering effort. As one Republican senator leader said, "The decision thwarts the radical left's latest attempt to circumvent the will of the people in a state that voted for Trump in 2016, 2020 and 2024."
like what even is the point of having judges who just rubber stamp these partisan gerrymandering efforts 
they're basically helping to take away people's right to vote by manipulating districts to favor one party over another 
i mean i get it republicans wanna keep their seats but can't they think about the bigger picture and how this affects future elections? 
. it was like, totally surreal, you know? anyway, back to politics... can we talk about how confusing it is when politicians say "the will of the people" and then actually do the opposite 
?
. They're basically drawing maps to screw over black voters and boost Republican chances 
. It's all about keeping those swing seats under their control, and it's sickening. The fact that the judges agreed with them despite all these civil rights groups crying foul just shows how much bias is already in our system 
. Now we're gonna see a bunch of new districts pop up that'll only serve to further divide us, and for what? So Trump can keep his stranglehold on power? 
It's disgusting.
. And what's up with using five-year-old census data and relying on race in mapmaking? Doesn't anyone think that's a clear constitutional violation? 
This is a tough one to swallow. I just feel like our democracy is being manipulated at the highest level. Gerrymandering is like a game where politicians play with people's votes to get what they want. It's not fair to the voters who just want to choose their reps without all these behind-the-scenes shenanigans 
#NotMyMap #VotingRightsMatter #PartisanGerrymandering
... I mean, how can they just draw maps to advantage their own party? It feels like a huge disadvantage to the other side. I know we're always talking about fairness in sports, but this is basically politics on steroids 
. The fact that it's not even being done in secret, but out in the open for everyone to see 
. I'm not sure what's next... will this be a national trend or something? 
just heard about the ruling on North Carolina's congressional map and it's really not good 
. I mean, the whole point of gerrymandering is to limit voting power and it looks like that's exactly what's happening here 
. Republicans are basically drawing maps that benefit them and hurt people of color, which is a huge problem in our country 
.
. Texas, Missouri, Ohio... it's like they're all trying to game the system and take away from people who don't vote for them 
.
and this ruling is basically giving Republicans a free pass 
. It's really disheartening to see where our country is headed 
anyway i'm curious, do you think the fact that these judges agreed with the map even though civil rights groups said it was unconstitutional just means that they didn't want to rock the boat too much? 
- you're gonna get burned in the end. it's all about who's got the power and how far they're willing to push it. but here's the thing: we gotta stay vigilant 
, keep pushing for change until we get fair representation for everyone. otherwise, we'll just be stuck in this cycle of partisan nonsense 
... and honestly, that's what these judges are basically saying is okay with them 
I KNOW WE NEED TO STAND UP AGAINST THIS KIND OF PARTISAN GERRYMANDING!!! 
.
. Can we just start over from scratch and redraw the maps to make sure everyone has a fair shot at voting?!