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Prof. Justin Levitt's Doug Spencer's Guide to Drawing the Electoral Lines

State Summary

North Carolina’s congressional and state legislative lines are both drawn by the legislature, and not subject to gubernatorial veto.

In the 2020 cycle, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to approve new congressional (S740), state Senate (S739), and state House (H976) maps on Nov. 4, 2021.  The congressional plans were struck down by the state Supreme Court as an unlawful partisan gerrymander on Feb. 4, 2022; a remedial plan drawn by the legislature was also struck down by the state courts on Feb. 23, 2022, and a special master’s interim plan was used for the 2022 elections.  After elections to the state Supreme Court, a newly constituted court overturned its prior opinion, finding no claim for partisan gerrymandering in the state constitution, and on Apr. 28, 2023, remanded for the legislature to draw new congressional lines.

The state legislative plans were also struck by the state Supreme Court on Feb. 4, 2022, as a partisan gerrymander.   Remedial plans were passed on Feb. 17, 2022, accepted by the trial court on Feb. 23, 2022, and used in the 2022 elections.  After the 2022 elections, the state Supreme Court initially rejected the state Senate plan as a partisan gerrymander, but on Apr. 28, 2023, the newly constituted state Supreme Court overturned its prior opinion, and remanded for the legislature to draw new state legislative lines.

In the 2010 cycle, North Carolina’s legislature passed a congressional plan (SB 453), state Senate plan (SB 455), and state House plan (HB 937) on July 27, 2011, which were precleared on Nov. 1, 2011.  The congressional plans were struck down by a federal court on Feb. 5, 2016; a remedial congressional plan (SB 2) was used in the 2016 and 2018 elections, but struck down in state court as a partisan gerrymander on Oct. 28, 2019.  The legislature drew another remedial congressional plan (H 1029) on Nov. 15, 2019.

For the state legislative plans, on Aug. 11, 2016, a federal court found that 9 state Senate districts and 19 state House districts were drawn based on an unjustified use of race (because the elections were imminent, the map was used in 2016).   Remedial state Senate (SB 691) and state House (HB 927) plans drawn in 2017 were rejected in part because several districts were still based on an unjustified use of race; the federal court modified the state plan on Jan. 21, 2018.  After the 2018 elections, two state court decisions found that the 2017 plans were also illegal partisan and mid-decade gerrymanders.  On Sept. 17, 2019, the legislature drew a final set of remedial state Senate (SB 692) and state House (HB 1020) plans.

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The Latest Updates

Oct 25, 2023
The state legislature adopted new congressional districts (SB 757) to replace districts drawn by a state court in Feb. 2022 after the Legislature's first map was struck down by the state supreme court.
Apr 28, 2023
The NC Sup. Ct. overturned its prior opinion, permitting partisan gerrymandering and allowing the legislature to redraw all maps.
Mar 14, 2023
The newly constituted state Supreme Court heard argument in a rare rehearing of the redistricting cases.
Feb 3, 2023
The state Supreme Court agreed to rehear a case decided in February 2022, which declared the state's districts to be a partisan gerrymander.    
Jan 20, 2023
NC legislators asked the state Supreme Court to reconsider its decision striking legislative and congressional districts as a partisan gerrymander.
Dec 18, 2022
The state Supreme Court ruled that a new legislative districts must be drawn for the state Senate before the 2024 election.
Aug 19, 2022
The North Carolina Supreme Court held that state legislators who were elected from unconstitutionally racially-gerrymandered districts do not have the authority to amend the state's Constitution on issues that might discriminate against those same voters who were gerrymandered.
Mar 17, 2022
The North Carolina General Assembly is once again petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to block the congressional redistricting plan promulgated by the North Carolina Supreme Court.
Mar 7, 2022
The U.S. Supreme Court denied North Carolina's legislature request for a stay, allowing the North Carolina Supreme Court maps to take effect, while the legislature appeal to the Court is pending.
Feb 25, 2022
Following the North Carolina Supreme Court's rejection of its revised congressional redistricting plan, the North Carolina General Assembly has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to block the ruling.
Feb 23, 2022
A three-judge state court rejected a revised congressional map adopted by the state legislature and approved a different map drawn by three special masters. The panel also rejected a challenge to the state's new legislative districts.
Feb 17, 2022
A three-judge state court appointed three special masters (all retired state judges) to aid in evaluating and drawing new congressional and state legislative districts.
Feb 17, 2022
The North Carolina Legislature also approved new congressional and state Senate redistricting maps, which will now go before a three-judge panel.
Feb 16, 2022
The North Carolina House approved a new state House redistricting map.
Feb 8, 2022
A three-judge court that was ordered by the state Supreme Court to draw new congressional and state legislative maps will appoint a special master to assist the judges.
Feb 4, 2022
North Carolina's Supreme Court struck down the state's new congressional and legislative maps. The Court gave lawmakers until Feb. 18th to submit a new plan.
Jan 28, 2022
Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the bill advanced by the legislature to delay primary elections in North Carolina until June 7, 2022.
Jan 19, 2022
The North Carolina General Assembly voted to delay primaries until June 7, 2022, in light of uncertainty stemming from pending redistricting litigation.
Jan 14, 2022
The North Carolina Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the ongoing redistricting litigation on Feb. 2.
Jan 11, 2022
The Wake County Superior Court denied the redistricting plaintiffs' requested relief in the consolidated cases, ruling that the recently-enacted redistricting maps are not unconstitutional.
Jan 3, 2022
State court begins trial in consolidated cases challenging North Carolina's congressional and state legislative districts. Plaintiffs allege that the state's new districts are partisan and racial gerrymanders in violation of the state's constitution. The trial will be held on an expedited bases in front of three judges who must issue a ruling by Jan. 11 per a prior order from the state Supreme Court.
Dec 13, 2021
Common Cause filed a motion to intervene in North Carolina's redistricting case, with an additional argument that the legislature violated a clear mandate from the state Supreme Court in 2002 that "legislative districts required by the VRA shall be formed prior to creation of non-VRA districts."
Dec 8, 2021
The North Carolina Supreme Court temporarily stayed the candidate-filing period and postponed the state's primary election from March 8 to May 17, 2022 in order to provide the courts enough time to complete their review of the state's maps.
Dec 6, 2021
The North Carolina Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, reversed an order by a three-judge appeals court panel that had blocked potential candidates from filing to run for Congress. The Court of Appeals agreed to "promptly"rehear the challenge to North Carolina's districts on the merits.
Nov 30, 2021
North Carolina state judge dismissed a lawsuit that sought an injunction against the state's congressional and legislative districts because map drawers failed to properly take race into account during the districting process.
Nov 16, 2021
The North Carolina League of Conservation Voters filed a lawsuit in state court challenging the enacted congressional and legislative redistricting maps as partisan gerrymanders in violation of the state's constitution. Plaintiffs also argue that the maps dilute the voting power of Black voters in violation of the state constitution.
Nov 5, 2021
A group of North Carolina citizens have filed a lawsuit in state court. Plaintiffs argue that the new congressional map is a partisan gerrymander in violation of the state's constitutional guarantees of free elections (art. I § 10), equal protection under the law (art. I § 19), freedom of speech (art. 1 § 14), and freedom of assembly (art. 1 § 12).
Nov 4, 2021
The North Carolina Legislature voted to approve new congressional (S740), state Senate (S739), and state House (H976) maps. These maps are effective immediately; under state law redistricting bills do not require the Governor's signature.
Oct 29, 2021
Civil rights groups filed a lawsuit preemptively challenging potential state legislative and congressional redistricting maps based on the legislature's failure to consider racial data when developing new plans.
Oct 26, 2021
North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore announced plans to vote on adopting legislative and congressional redistricting maps next week.
Oct 25, 2021
The House and Senate Redistricting Committees will each be holding public hearings on sets of proposed maps.
Sep 13, 2021
The House and Senate Redistricting Committees held a series of public meetings to get input on the redistricting process from September 8 through September 30, 2021.
Aug 12, 2021
The House and Senate Redistricting Committees voted to adopt redistricting criteria.
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Institution

North Carolina’s congressional and state legislative lines are both drawn by the legislature, and not subject to gubernatorial veto.  [N.C. Const. art. II, § 22(5)]

North Carolina law gives exclusive jurisdiction over challenges to congressional and state legislative plans in state court to a three-judge panel composed of the senior superior court judge of Wake County and two other state superior court judges appointed by the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court from different regions of the state, with appeal directly to the state Supreme Court. No member of the three-judge panel may be a former state legislator. If a plan is found unlawful, a state court may not impose its own plan without first giving the legislature time to correct the issue. [N.C. Stat. §§ 1-81.1, 1-267.1120-2.4]

Timing

North Carolina state law does not impose a particular deadline for drawing congressional lines, though candidates must file for congressional primary elections by Dec. 17, 2021. [N.C. Stat. § 163-106.2]

State legislative lines must be drawn in the first regular legislative session after the federal Census is conducted; that session began on Jan. 27, 2021, and is currently scheduled to end on July 30, 2021. [N.C. Const. art. II, §§ 3, 5]  Candidates must file for state legislative primary elections by Dec. 17, 2021. [N.C. Stat. § 163-106.2]

The North Carolina constitution prohibits redrawing state legislative lines mid-decade; there is no similar provision pertaining to congressional lines. [N.C. Const. art. II, §§ 3, 5]

Public input

State law provides that redistricting-related requests to legislative employees and documents prepared by legislative employees become public records when a final district plan becomes law.  [N.C. Stat. § 120-133] The General Assembly also maintains a public redistricting terminal to allow members of the public access redistricting data and software for map-drawing purposes.

The House and Senate Redistricting Committees held a series of public meetings on the redistricting process from September 8 through September 30, 2021.

Criteria

Like all states, North Carolina must comply with constitutional equal population requirements. [N.C. Const. art. II, §§ 3, 5Stephenson v. Bartlett, 582 S.E.2d 247, 249-51 (N.C. 2003)]

North Carolina must also, like all states, abide by the Voting Rights Act and constitutional rules on race.

North Carolina law also provides additional constraints for state legislative districts. Districts must be contiguous (not merely touching at a point) and compact, and where doing so is not otherwise required by law, district lines must cross county lines as little as possible (and in grouping multiple counties together, must group as few as possible). State law also states that communities of interest should be considered. [N.C. Const. art. II, §§ 3, 5Stephenson v. Bartlett, 582 S.E.2d 247, 249-51 (N.C. 2003)]

2010 cycle

North Carolina’s legislature passed a congressional plan (SB 453) on July 27, 2011, which was precleared on Nov. 1, 2011.  On Nov. 7, 2011, the legislature passed SB 689, a technical correction bill to correct a computer error, which was precleared on Dec. 8, 2011.

The legislature also passed a state Senate (SB 455) and state House (HB 937) plan on July 27, 2011, which was precleared on Nov. 1, 2011.  On Nov. 7, 2011, the legislature passed technical correction bills for the state Senate (SB 283) and state House (HB 777); the bills were also precleared on Dec. 8, 2011.

 

The congressional plans were challenged in state and federal court; on Feb. 5, 2016, the federal court struck two districts based on an unjustified use of race.  [Harris v. McCrory, 159 F. Supp. 3d 600 (M.D.N.C. 2016), aff’d sub nom. Cooper v. Harris, 137 S. Ct. 1455 (2017); Dickson v. Rucho, 766 S.E.2d 238 (N.C. 2014), vacated, 135 S. Ct. 1843 (2015), 781 S.E.2d 404 (N.C. 2015), vacated, 137 S. Ct. 2186 (2017), judgment, Dickson v. Rucho, No. 11-CVS-16896 (N.C. Super. Ct., Wake Cnty. Feb. 12, 2018)]

The legislature drew a remedial congressional plan (SB 2) on Feb. 19, 2016, used in the 2016 and 2018 elections.  Challenges in federal court were unsuccessful, but on Oct. 28, 2019, a state court struck the plan as a partisan gerrymander in violation of the state constitution.  [Harper v. Lewis, No. 19-CVS-012667 (N.C. Super. Ct., Wake Cnty. Oct. 28, 2019); Rucho v. Common Cause, 139 S. Ct. 2484 (2019); Harris v. McCrory, No. 1:13-cv-00949, 2016 WL 3129213 (M.D.N.C. June 2, 2016), aff’d, 138 S. Ct. 2711 (2018)]

The legislature drew another remedial congressional plan (H 1029) on Nov. 15, 2019.  Further challenges were rejected. [Brewster v. Berger, No. 2:19-cv-00037 (E.D.N.C. Dec. 2, 2019)]

 

The state legislative plans were also challenged in state and federal court.  On Aug. 11, 2016, the federal court found that 9 state Senate districts and 19 state House districts were drawn based on an unjustified use of race — but because the elections were imminent, the map was used in 2016.   [Covington v. North Carolina, 316 F.R.D. 117 (M.D.N.C. 2016), aff’d, 137 S. Ct. 2211 (2017), 137 S. Ct. 1624 (2017); Dickson v. Rucho, 766 S.E.2d 238 (N.C. 2014), vacated, 135 S. Ct. 1843 (2015), 781 S.E.2d 404 (N.C. 2015), vacated, 137 S. Ct. 2186 (2017), judgment, Dickson v. Rucho, No. 11-CVS-16896 (N.C. Super. Ct., Wake Cnty. Feb. 12, 2018)]]

On Aug. 31, 2017, the legislature drew remedial state Senate (SB 691) and state House (HB 927) plans, but they were rejected in part by the federal court; the court found that 2 state Senate districts and 2 state House districts were still based on an unjustified use of race, and 5 state House districts were redrawn by the legislature contrary to state law and without any need based on the 2016 order.  The federal court drew its own plan on Jan. 21, 2018.  The Supreme Court agreed with respect to the 4 districts based on an unjustified use of race, but said that the federal court should not have redrawn the state House map based on a violation of state law.  The 2018 elections were held under the federal court’s modification of the districts drawn improperly based on race.  [Covington v. North Carolina, 283 F. Supp. 3d 410 (M.D.N.C. 2018); North Carolina v. Covington, 138 S. Ct. 2548 (2018)]

The 5 state House districts redrawn in 2017 without need imposed by federal law were further challenged in state court; on Nov. 2, 2018, a state court found that they were impermissibly redrawn mid-decade.  [N.C. State Conference of NAACP Branches v. Lewis, No. 18-CVS-002322 (N.C. Super. Ct., Wake Cnty. Nov. 2, 2018)]  Separately, on Sept. 3, 2019, a state court struck the 2017 remedial state Senate and state House plans as partisan gerrymanders in violation of the state constitution.   [Common Cause v. Lewis, No. 18-CVS-014001, 2019 WL 4569584 (N.C. Super. Ct., Wake Cnty. Sept. 3, 2019)]

On Sept. 17, 2019, the legislature drew a final set of remedial state Senate (SB 692) and state House (HB 1020) plans.  Further challenges to these plans were rejected in court.  [Common Cause v. Lewis, No. 18-CVS-014001 (N.C. Super. Ct., Wake Cnty. Oct. 28, 2019)]

2000 cycle

North Carolina’s legislature passed a congressional plan (HB 32) on Dec. 5, 2001, which was precleared on Feb. 15, 2002. It appears that this plan was not challenged in court.

The legislature also passed state Senate (SB 798) and state House (HB 1025) plans on Nov. 13, 2001, which were precleared on Feb. 11, 2002. This plan was successfully challenged in state court, on the grounds that it did not sufficiently maintain county boundaries. [Stephenson v. Bartlett, 562 S.E.2d 377 (N.C. 2002)]

The legislature then redrew a state legislative plan (HB 4) on May 20, 2002; this plan was also struck down in state court, on grounds relating to the Voting Rights Act, compactness, and the need to otherwise keep county boundaries intact.  On May 31, 2002, the state court drew its own plan, which was precleared on July 12, 2002, and used for the 2002 elections. [Stephenson v. Bartlett, 582 S.E.2d 247 (N.C. 2003)]

The legislature redrew state legislative lines (HB 3) for a third time on Nov. 25, 2003, which were precleared on Mar. 30, 2004. The state House plan was again challenged, and again struck down in state court, on grounds that section 2 of the Voting Rights Act could not trump North Carolina’s provision concerning county boundaries for minority electorates amounting to less than 50% of a district-sized population. However, the court allowed the 2003 districts to remain intact for the 2008 election. [Pender County v. Bartlett, 649 S.E.2d 364 (N.C. 2007), aff’d sub nom. Bartlett v. Strickland, 556 U.S. 1 (2009)]

On June 16, 2009, the state legislature passed a plan amending the state House lines (HB 1621) in two counties, in order to comply with the above court decisions. Because the only two counties affected were not covered under section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, no preclearance was required.

Additional challenges against the state legislative plan were filed in federal court, but the plan was not otherwise held unlawful. [Dean v. Leake, 550 F. Supp. 2d 594 (E.D.N.C. 2008)]

Redistricting Cases in North Carolina

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North Carolina | Congress | State Upper | State Lower
Bard v. N.C. State Bd. of Elections
PENDING -- State court challenge to congressional and state leg. map: unfair partisanship
Last Updated Jul 22, 2024
Case No. 24-CVS-003534-910 (N.C. Super. Ct., Wake Cnty.)
Cycle 2020
North Carolina | State Upper
Pierce v. N.C. State Bd. of Elec.
PENDING -- Federal court challenge to state Senate districts as violation of section 2 of the VRA
Last Updated Jun 28, 2024
Case No. 4:23-cv-00193 (E.D.N.C.), Nos. 23-02317, 24-01095 (4th Cir.)
Cycle 2020
North Carolina | Congress | State Upper | State Lower
N.C. State Conf. of the NAACP v. Berger II
(consolidated) Federal court challenge to state legislative and congressional districts: VRA, unconstitutional use of race, and malapportionment
Last Updated Mar 18, 2024
Case No. 1:23-cv-01104 (M.D.N.C.)
Cycle 2020

2020 North Carolina Maps Available for Download

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North Carolina | 2020
2020 North Carolina Maps
North Carolina’s congressional and state legislative lines are both drawn by the legislature, and...
Number of Maps 3
Last Updated Nov 6, 2021
Cycle 2020