(The Center Square) – New congressional maps instituted last week by the North Carolina Legislature are already involved in litigation, with judicial oversight of existing cases asking for impact.
The State Board of Elections says it needs resolution by Dec. 1. The filing period opens that day at noon and closes Dec. 19 at noon. The Super Tuesday primaries are March 3; and the midterms are Nov. 3, 2026.
Tuesday, the American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of North Carolina joined the Southern Coalition for Social Justice and Hogan Lovells in a supplemental complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The entities say new congressional maps drawn out a Senate bill passed this month is in violation of the First, 14th and 15th Amendments and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
The lawsuit is based on race.
Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, chairman of the Committee on Elections in the Senate, on Monday of last week prior to passage said, “The motivation behind this redraw is simple and singular. Draw a new map that will bring an additional Republican seat to the North Carolina congressional delegation.
“Absolutely no racial data was used in the creation of this map. The predominant use of race to draw districts violates the U.S. Constitution, unless doing so serves a compelling government interest. In other words, if the Legislature draws districts predominantly based upon race without a compelling interest, those districts would be declared illegal racial gerrymanders.”
In a court filing Monday, the NAACP and Common Cause expressed hope to challenge the new map in an already existing federal redistricting lawsuit.
In Realign Congressional Districts 2025, known also as Senate Bill 249, 12 districts remain unchanged from 2024 and two are reshaped to strengthen Republicans’ chance to win in the northeastern part of the state for an 11-3 representation at the U.S. House of Representatives.
Differentiations because of court orders have been in each map used for four of the last five congressional elections – 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022. The Legislature drew it in 2024.
The last time the U.S. House representative in the northeastern part of the state was won by a Republican was 1882, a streak voting trends indicate would be broken if this map survives potential litigations.
Gubernatorial veto is not possible on this legislation.
Beaufort, Hyde, Dare, Craven, Pamlico and Carteret counties change from the 3rd to the 1st Congressional District; Wilson, Wayne, Greene and Lenoir counties change from the 1st to the 3rd. The only district of 14 with closer than 13% difference in 2024 was a win by Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., in the 1st District.
Congressional map redraws stretch coast to coast. The impetus is a plea from second-term Republican President Donald Trump to keep party majority in the U.S. House at 2026 midterms, a pivot point in past presidential terms. Majority was 220-215 on Election Day and is 219-213 with three vacancies today. The magic number is 218.
Govs. Mike Kehoe of Missouri and Greg Abbott of Texas have already signed new maps into law; Utah’s legislative passage is awaiting judicial approval. California voters decide next month on Proposition 50, the November ballot measure that could replace the state’s independent commission-drawn congressional district maps.
