NAACP files lawsuit seeking to reject North Carolina state, congressional maps

The NAACP’s North Carolina chapter, Common Cause and a group of Black voters are challenging the use of state and congressional lines approved by North Carolina’s GOP-led Legislature earlier this fall. 

The plaintiffs allege in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday that the state House, state Senate and congressional maps approved by the state Legislature either violated provisions of the Voting Rights Act or violated the 14th or 15th amendments in the U.S. Constitution, alleging lawmakers “targeted predominantly Black voting precincts” when they drew their maps “to achieve preferred district lines that diminish Black voters’ ability to elect candidates of their choice at all levels of government.” 

The lawsuit accuses lawmakers of racial gerrymandering, diluting the voting power of Black North Carolinians and intentional discrimination in the creation of the state maps.  

The lawsuit also calls to bar the use of the state and congressional maps that were approved by the GOP-led state Legislature, requesting “remedial redistricting plans sufficient to remedy the violations set forth herein in time for use no later than the 2026 general election.” 

The lawsuit comes roughly two months after the Republican-controlled state Legislature passed new state and congressional maps in the Tar Heel State. The state Supreme Court, which flipped to a conservative majority following the November midterms, made the unusual move to rehear a case over the state maps earlier this spring. 

Under its previous majority, the state Supreme Court had tossed out the state maps over partisan gerrymandering in 2022, but the new makeup of the court reversed course on that decision this year — paving the way for Republicans to redraw their maps again. 

Republicans then created a congressional map that included 10 seats favored for Republicans, one toss-up seat and three favored for Democrats — a shift from the current 7-7 congressional partisan split in the state.

North Carolina has increasingly trended red in recent years, and its congressional map will play a critical role in which party wins the House in 2024.