North Carolina Democrats praised Tuesday鈥檚 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on redistricting, but the decision likely won鈥檛 have a major effect on the maps drawn for next year鈥檚 election.
Attorney General Josh Stein said in a video that he鈥檚 glad the high court rejected what鈥檚 known as 鈥渋ndependent state legislature鈥� theory. It鈥檚 an idea advanced by attorneys for the North Carolina legislature who argued that state courts can鈥檛 block legislative action on federal elections.
鈥淭hey reaffirmed that in our democracy, the people have power over the politicians,鈥� Stein said. 鈥淥ur state legislators actually asked the U.S. Supreme Court to give them unfettered power over federal elections, no matter what state constitution says.鈥�
Republican state House Speaker Tim Moore 鈥� who鈥檚 named in the title of the case, 鈥� declined to speak with reporters after Tuesday鈥檚 House session.
Moore said in a news release that 鈥渢he question of the role of state courts in congressional redistricting needed to be settled and this decision has done just that. I am proud of the work we did to pursue this case to the nation鈥檚 highest court.鈥�
Senate leader Phil Berger says the ruling avoided a key question.
"I don鈥檛 think we got an answer to the question that we were asking, specifically whether Democrats on the state Supreme Court had gone beyond what would be considered appropriate in rejecting redistricting maps on the basis of partisan gerrymandering," Berger said.
The legislature plans to convene this fall to redraw legislative and congressional maps for the 2024 election. While the U.S. Supreme Court upheld last year鈥檚 N.C. Supreme Court decision to strike down maps it saw as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander, that ruling has already been reversed by the state court鈥檚 new Republican majority.
That means GOP legislative leaders will likely try to draw maps that advantage their party more than the maps used in the 2022 election, which resulted in a congressional delegation evenly split between Democrats and Republicans.
But Hilary Klein of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice 鈥� one of the group鈥檚 involved in the Supreme Court case 鈥� said Tuesday that the ruling and other recent decision from the high court should give legislators pause. She cited the Alabama case that upheld a portion of the Voting Rights Act addressing racial gerrymandering.
鈥淚 think that absolutely will require the North Carolina legislature to reframe how it鈥檚 going to do any redraw,鈥� Klein said.
In his video statement, Stein 鈥� who鈥檚 running for governor in 2024 鈥� acknowledged the likely outcome of this year鈥檚 redistricting process.
鈥淲e know that there鈥檚 going to be rough partisan gerrymander maps here in the state legislature next year,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat means that we have to work our tails off. And I know this: good organizing can defeat a bad gerrymander.鈥�
We shouldn't mince words: legislative leaders attempted a coup in the courts and were stopped by both conservatives and liberals on .
— Rep. Alma Adams (@RepAdams)
Democracy doesn't tolerate autocrats, even in state legislatures. No one person or body should have absolute power over elections.
The ruling was widely praised by Democrats across the country. Former President Barack Obama , 鈥淭his ruling rejects the far-right theory that threatened to undermine our democracy, and makes clear that courts can continue defending voters' rights鈥攊n North Carolina and in every state.鈥� Stacey Abrams, a voting rights activist who twice ran for governor in Georgia, 鈥渁 vital reaffirmation of the role of state courts.鈥�
Rep. Robert Reives, the Democratic leader of the state House, said in a statement that the ruling 鈥渞einforces the role of courts in protecting citizens against legislative overreach."
