NC GOP officials to appeal gerrymandering ruling to Supreme Court

Source: The Hill




BY LYDIA WHEELER - 01/12/18 11:39 AM EST

North Carolina Republicans are appealing to the Supreme Court a federal district court’s decision to strike down the state’s congressional voter map.

Robert Rucho, chairman of the state’s Senate Redistricting Committee for the 2016 Extra Session, and other state officials filed a notice of their appeal to the Supreme Court late Thursday.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina ruled Tuesday that the state’s 2016 redistricting plan constituted an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander and said the state's districts need to be redrawn before the 2018 midterm elections.

In the majority opinion, Judge James Wynn, who sits on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, said the state’s General Assembly “enacted the plan with the intent of discriminating against voters who favored non-Republican candidates” and ordered a new map be drawn by 5 p.m. on Jan. 24.


Read more: http://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/368722-nc-gop-officials-to-appeal-gerrymandering-ruling-to-supreme-court