Supreme Court Shuts Down Lower Court Ruling to Redraw State Districts | Eastern NC Now

    Publisher's note: This post, by Demi Dowdy, was originally published in Civitas's online edition.

    On Tuesday, it was announced that the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a lower court ruling ordering North Carolina legislators to redraw state legislative districts. The lower court decision would have required special elections to be held by March 15, once the new districts were drawn.

    According to the AP, "Tuesday's court order granted the request of North Carolina Republican legislative leaders and state officials to delay November's ruling by a three-judge panel. The panel last summer threw out 28 state House and Senate districts as illegal racial gerrymanders."

    In a joint statement, House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Leader Phil Berger said, "We are grateful the U.S. Supreme Court has quashed judicial activism and rejected an attempt to nullify the votes of North Carolinians in the 2016 legislative elections."