A lawmaker studies a district map during a joint select committee meeting on redistricting in Raleigh, N.C. on July 26, 2017. | Gerry Broome/AP Photo
North Carolina’s state Supreme Court handed Democrats one of their biggest legal victories yet in the fight over redistricting, striking down a GOP-drawn congressional map that could have given Republicans control of 11 of the state’s 14 districts.
In a ruling released Friday evening, the justices wrote that the current map was an illegal partisan gerrymander that is “unconstitutional beyond a reasonable doubt.” The state Supreme Court gave the state legislature until Feb. 18 to submit a new redistricting proposal to the court — or a trial court will approve a new plan.
Democrats were anxiously awaiting this ruling after the state Supreme Court heard opening arguments on Wednesday. They have a narrow majority on the high court, but a more conservative lower court had initially let the Republican-drawn map stand.