North Carolina is no stranger to making political waves, and in the weeks ahead, the Tar Heel State’s internal battles could create ripple effects across the country.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Moore v. Harper, which stems from the North Carolina Supreme Court’s decision to reject a congressional district map drawn by the state legislature that the court found to be so extremely gerrymandered, it was unconstitutional. The former’s pending ruling could have major ramifications for the division of power over elections in every state in the country. It’s also the culmination of a decade-long effort by North Carolina Republicans to cling onto power.
Depending on how it rules, the Supreme Court could give partisan state lawmakers even greater power to draw district lines and run elections, while weakening the authority of state courts to keep those powers in check. And in charting the course of this case, it’s clear exactly what the plaintiffs — North Carolina Republicans — hope to gain. The story starts over a decade ago, when the GOP took control of the Tar Heel State’s legislature, and winds up at the steps of the Supreme Court, where some of those same Republican lawmakers are hoping to shore up their power in a fast-growing and demographically shifting state.
North Carolina’s most extreme political maneuvers have threatened to seep out and radicalize other parts of the country before. Moore v. Harper could spring an actual leak.
Moore v. Harper emerged from a quagmire of political warfare that has been swirling in the Tar Heel State for decades. It all began … well, truthfully, it all began a few centuries ago, but for brevity’s sake, let’s start in the slightly more recent history: the 2010 midterms. Republicans rode a red wave to win control of both the North Carolina House and Senate for the first time since Reconstruction. The win was partially aided by REDMAP, a project helmed by former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie that funneled funds into statehouse races with the explicit aim of gaining Republican control over the upcoming redistricting cycle following the 2010 census. And since North Carolina is one of a minority of states where the governor has virtually no power over drawing district maps, the newly GOP-controlled state assembly had total control over the redistricting process.
They wasted no time getting to work, hiring a GOP strategist renowned for his skill at crafting expertly gerrymandered maps. He lived up to his reputation, helping the state legislature draw a map that would have likely given Republicans an additional four Congressional seats. It was quickly challenged in court by a coalition of voter rights groups including the state NAACP and League of Women’s Voters, kicking off a protracted saga of courtroom battles.
“Every single election after that, with the exception of 2020, […] every one of those maps adopted, state and congressional, were eventually tossed and ruled unconstitutional,” said Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, a nonpartisan government reform group that has frequently joined on court challenges over the maps. “And I don’t know if there’s any other state in America that can say that.”
As the legal ping-pong continued, it was no secret that state lawmakers were set on drawing maps that would…
Read More: How North Carolina’s Political Warfare Could Impact The Entire Country