Supreme Court temporarily blocks order to redraw North Carolina congressional map News
Supreme Court temporarily blocks order to redraw North Carolina congressional map

The US Supreme Court [official website] on Thursday temporarily stayed [order, PDF] an order from the US District Court of the Middle District of North Carolina [official website] to redraw the state’s congressional map because of partisan gerrymandering.

The defendants in the North Carolina Case filed a motion for stay [text, PDF] with the Supreme Court last week after the the North Carolina court filed an order requiring the state to enact a new congressional district map. The North Carolina Court had previously required that the state enact a new congressional district map in 2016.

However, the map that was created in 2016 was then challenged again on partisan gerrymandering grounds. The recent district court decision gives the North Carolina General Assembly two weeks to replace the 2016 district map with a new congressional district map. The filing period for North Carolina’s primary elections are set to begin on February 12.

The Supreme Court is currently considering two other partisan gerrymandering cases from Wisconsin and Maryland [dockets]. A stay was also granted by the Supreme Court in the Wisconsin case.

Partisan gerrymandering has been a significant issue in the US in recent years. The Supreme Court heard arguments [JURIST report] regarding the Wisconsin case in October. Earlier this month, a Pennsylvania federal court rejected [JURIST report] a challenge to the state’s electoral map stating that the plaintiffs failed to show the map was made to dictate the outcomes of the election.