Post by Logan on Feb 6, 2016 23:06:23 GMT -6
RALEIGH -- A federal court panel ruled late Friday that two of North Carolina’s 13 congressional districts were racially gerrymandered and must be redrawn within two weeks, sparking uncertainty about whether the March primary elections can proceed as planned.
An order from a three-judge panel bars elections in North Carolina’s 1st and 12th congressional districts until new maps are approved.
Challengers of North Carolina’s 2011 redistricting plan quickly praised the ruling, while legislators who helped design the maps said they were disappointed and promised a quick appeal.
“This ruling by all three judges is a vindication of our challenge to the General Assembly of North Carolina writing racially biased ‘apartheid’ voting districts to disenfranchise the power of the African-American vote,” said the Rev. William Barber, president of North Carolina’s NAACP chapter.
Read more here: www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article58756583.html