On Friday, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a ruling to reinstate the state’s voter ID law.
However, North Carolina's Republican majority high court issued another ruling that could have significant implications on the U.S. House of Representatives.
The court overturned a previous decision that said electoral maps drawn by Republican legislators were illegal.
When Democrats held a majority in the court, the prior ruling said the electoral maps were too partisan.
CBS 17 reported:
Chief Justice Paul Newby, writing for the majority, wrote that there is “no judicially manageable standard by which to adjudicate partisan gerrymandering claims.”
“Courts are not intended to meddle in policy matters,” Newby wrote. “In its decision today, the Court returns to its tradition of honoring the constitutional roles assigned to each branch. This case is not about partisan politics but rather about realigning the proper roles of the judicial and legislative branches. Today we begin to correct course, returning the judiciary to its designated lane.”
The map-drawing ruling gives the Republicans — who hold a supermajority in the General Assembly — the chance to redraw the state’s congressional map for the 2024 election. Democrats and Republicans each hold seven of the state’s 14 seats in Congress. National Republicans are trying to hold onto a slim majority.
According to multiple reports, the newly-drawn map could lead to Republicans picking up four additional seats in the House of Representatives.
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From Politico:
Now Republicans in Raleigh could re-create the map they initially passed last cycle which a Democratic-controlled state Supreme Court struck down, netting as many as four seats.
The court issued a 5-2 decision, with the court’s Republican justices voting to overturn the past ruling and the two Democratic justices dissenting. The court flipped from 4-3 Democratic control to 5-2 Republican control during elections last November.
Republicans currently hold a slim 222-213 majority in the House of Representatives.
Thus, the North Carolina Supreme Court decision will have a huge impact on the 2024 congressional elections.
The Washington Examiner noted earlier in February:
North Carolina's 14 House seats are currently evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, but the previously enacted map, struck down by the court, would have likely set up the GOP with as many as 11 seats.
One expert told Reuters it would not be a surprise if the old map was reinstated instead of an entirely new map being formulated.
"I wouldn't be surprised if they just went through the Kabuki theater, and we actually end up with exactly the same maps," Catherine Turcer, the executive director of Common Cause Ohio, told Reuters
Early projections for the 2024 House races from the Cook Political Report show the GOP with an advantage, with the likely installation of new Republican-friendly maps in North Carolina and Ohio playing a role in the early projection.
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