NC is one of the most gerrymandered states in America. This trial hopes to change that.

A federal trial wrapping up in Winston-Salem centers on the claim that NC Republicans suppressed Black voters when they gerrymandered the state.

North Carolina is considered to be one of the most gerrymandered states in America. The plaintiffs in a federal court trial wrapping up in Winston-Salem today are hoping to do something about that. 

NC’s state chapter of the NAACP is alleging that Republican lawmakers purposely drew congressional and state legislative maps to suppress the power of Black voters. 

The trial, which began on June 16 with a three-judge panel, is expected to end today with closing remarks occurring around 3 p.m. If the plaintiffs are successful, the maps must be completed before candidate filing begins on Dec. 1, marking the start of the 2026 election.

The district maps were enacted in 2023 and were used during the 2024 election, where Republicans kept General Assembly majorities and flipped three US House seats held by Democratic incumbents.

How we got here

North Carolina has a long history of gerrymandering, which is the practice of drawing voting maps to benefit one party.

It’s typically done by “packing” large numbers of voters with one historical voting pattern into one district, or by “cracking” a region into several voting districts, thereby diluting their power.

Read More: Cardinal & Pine explains how gerrymandering works, using the Duke vs. UNC rivalry

For decades, Democrats were accused of gerrymandering the state to their advantage, but since the Republican takeover of the legislature in 2011, the shoe is on the other foot. 

In 2016, Republicans lost a gerrymandering court case in federal court because they used racial demographic data to suppress the votes of Black and Brown people. Since then, they’ve changed their tactics, insisting that they have drawn the districts for partisan reasons, not racial reasons. 

In other words, they say they drew it to disadvantage Democrats, not Black people, although Black voters in North Carolina have historically voted for Democrats, making the distinction a difficult one.

NC’s Republican-dominated state Supreme Court have accepted the GOP argument in recent years, but this case is in federal court so there is the possibility of a different outcome. 

What’s at stake

If the plaintiffs win their case, Republican legislators could be forced to redraw district maps for the 2026 elections, diluting their partisan advantage.

“Legislators imposed these discriminatory districts in an intentionally rushed and deficient process that denied the opportunity for meaningful engagement to minority representatives and citizens, and showed clear disregard for the interests, needs, and desires of North Carolina’s Black voters,” the Southern Coalition for Social Justice said in a statement about the challenge.

The complaint claims the General Assembly adopted the redistricting criteria “excluding any formal evaluation or consideration of race” contrary to precedent set in the Supreme Court ruling in Allen v. Milligan. 

This decision found that Alabama’s 2021 redistricting plan for its US House seats violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which bans racial discrimination in voting policies.

The GOP defendants claim that partisan considerations – with no racial motivation – helped inform their decision-making for the maps and adhered to traditional redistricting criteria.

The plaintiffs also allege that the 2023 Congressional Plan weakens the voting power of Black voters in the Triad area of Greensboro, High Point, and Winston-Salem within Guilford, Forsyth, Davidson, and Randolph counties. 

“Despite having one of the most concentrated, longstanding, and historically significant Black populations in the state, the Triad is cracked between four new Congressional Districts (5, 6, 9, 10) under the 2023 Congressional Plan,” the complaint claims. 

Stay tuned to Cardinal & Pine for updates on this important case.