RALEIGH, N.C. — Lawmakers unconstitutionally used race when they drew legislative boundaries for state House and state Senate members in 2011, a panel of three federal district court judges ruled Thursday afternoon.
The ruling is the latest federal ruling tossing out district lines drawn by North Carolina lawmakers, and it appears to mirror a decision earlier this year that rejected lines drawn for members of the U.S. House.
“Therefore, we hereby order the North Carolina General Assembly to draw remedial districts in their next legislative session to correct the constitutional deficiencies in the Enacted Plans,” the court wrote.
However, this year’s election will be unaffected.
“We regrettably conclude that due to the mechanics of state and federal election requirements, there is insufficient time, at this late date, for: the General Assembly to draw and enact remedial districts; this Court to review the remedial plan; the state to hold candidate filing and primaries for the remedial districts; absentee ballots to be generated as required by statute; and for general elections to still take place as scheduled in November 2016,” the three judge panel of North Carolina’s federal Middle District wrote.
To read the rest of the story click here: North Carolina