NC Supreme Court strikes down General Assembly redistricting maps

RALEIGH, N.C. (WWAY) — The North Carolina Supreme Court has struck down new district lines approved by the General Assembly that would have affected the 2022 election.

The court ruled 4-3 that the maps were unconstitutional.

“A healthy democracy requires free elections and the NC Supreme Court is right to order a redraw of unconstitutionally gerrymandered districts,” Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted. “More work remains and any legislative redraw must reflect the full intent of this decision.”

Under state law, lawmakers now have two weeks to come up with new maps.

“Under our constitution, political power must be ‘vested in and derived from the people’ & our government must be founded upon their will only,'” Attorney General Josh Stein tweeted. “Our elected leaders flout that principle when they seek to perpetuate their power irrespective of the will of the voters. Our gvt. must be of, by, & for the people, not of, by, & for one political party. That’s why the voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around. Partisan gerrymandering is offensive to democracy; it’s also contrary to our fundamental constitutional rights.”