North Carolina judges consider if lawsuit claiming right to ‘fair’ elections can continue

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina judges deciding whether a redistricting lawsuit claiming a state constitutional right to “fair” elections can go to trial questioned Thursday their ability to scrutinize district boundaries that way or to define what “fair” means.

A panel of three trial judges listened to arguments on a motion by Republican legislative leaders to have the lawsuit filed against them by several voters dismissed. The judges did not immediately rule from the bench, but two of the judges peppered the voters’ lead lawyer with questions about what his clients were specifically seeking.

The legislators’ attorney said the lawsuit was already short-circuited by a 2023 state Supreme Court ruling that found judges lacked authority to declare redistricting maps are illegal partisan gerrymanders.

It’s one of at least four lawsuits filed in North Carolina to challenge boundaries drawn by the GOP-dominated General Assembly last fall for use in elections through 2030 that favor Republicans electorally. Three have been filed in federal court and claim illegal racial gerrymandering. Two of those lawsuits are scheduled for trial next year. A federal appeals court in March sided with Republicans in a third lawsuit involving two state Senate districts.

Bob Orr, a former Supreme Court justice representing the voters, said this lawsuit takes a different tack than those filed by Democrats and their allies that ultimately led to the high court’s declaration that redistricting was a political matter the judiciary must stay out of, save for challenges on specific limitations. The justices also affirmed that lawmakers can consider partisanship in mapmaking.