A federal court today has removed all injunctions against a new congressional map passed into law by the Republican legislature in North Carolina, allowing the state to use the new congressional maps in next year’s elections.
Here’s the news from NBC:
A federal court in North Carolina is allowing the state to use a new Republican-drawn congressional map that would help the GOP pick up another seat in the House during next year’s midterm elections.
A three-judge panel of U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina unanimously denied preliminary injunction requests in a pair of lawsuits that said in part that the new map was aimed at diluting the voting strength of Black voters, in violation of the 14th Amendment.
The judges found that the challengers “presented no direct evidence” that the Legislature enacted the map for racially discriminatory purposes.
“Instead, the direct evidence shows that the 2025 redistricting was motivated by partisan purposes,” the panel wrote Wednesday in a 57-page opinion.
The Republican-controlled North Carolina Legislature last month approved a map aimed at expanding the number of Republican seats in the House. Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, does not have the power to veto the map.
The map aims to flip North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, which President Donald Trump narrowly won in 2024. It’s represented by Democrat Don Davis, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.