NC redistricting lawsuit dismissed by trial judges

RALEIGH — North Carolina trial judges have dismissed a lawsuit challenging redrawn legislative and congressional district lines, arguing they violate the indirect constitutional right to “fair elections.” The justices said the recent finding still applies — that political decisions about redistricting are left to the General Assembly, not the courts.

In an order issued last Friday, a three-judge panel of the Supreme Court dismissed a complaint filed in January by several voters who tried to block enforcement of a new redistricting that they say creates disproportionately large preferences that favor one side — in this case, benefiting Republicans.

In a 2023 state Supreme Court ruling, a majority Republican Party ruling said the justices lack the authority to declare redistricting maps illegal partisan gerrymanders. They also said redistricting is a political issue that the judiciary must stay away from unless it is challenging specific restrictions.

A lawyer for the voters argued at a court hearing earlier this month that the 2023 decision did not apply to his lawsuit, which described an implied, though unspecified, right in the state constitution to fair elections. The lawsuit cites a specific provision in the constitution that “elections shall be frequently held” and that “all elections shall be free.”

But the order signed by Supreme Court Justices Jeffery Foster, Angela Puckett and Ashley Gore says the Supreme Court’s 2023 opinion still controls the outcome in the case. That’s an argument also made by Republican legislative leaders who were among the defendants in the lawsuit.

“The issues raised by Plaintiffs are clearly political in nature,” the order said Thursday. “There is no discoverable or manageable standard by which they can be resolved in court, and the panel’s resolution would require us to make policy findings that are more attuned to the policymaking authority, namely, the General Assembly.”

Plaintiffs’ attorneys said Saturday they expect to appeal. In a written statement, the lawyers added that the ruling that “legislative manipulation of voters to create substantially predetermined election results” goes beyond the courts’ authority to address, in part creating a result that “if correct, is a devastating blow to North Carolina’s democratic electoral process.” Spokespeople for state House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

The lawsuit is one of four filed in North Carolina to challenge congressional and legislative boundaries set by the GOP-dominated General Assembly last fall for use in 2030 elections that favor Republicans. The remaining three, still pending, were filed in federal court and involve claims of illegal racial gerrymandering.

The “fair elections” case centers on several districts. The three justices who heard the lawsuit are all registered Republicans. Chief Justice Paul Newby, a Republican who wrote the prevailing opinion in the 2023 redistricting ruling, selects three-judge panels to hear such cases.