Supreme Court’s Alabama voting map ruling offers hope to North Carolina | Opinion
In 2013, Republicans newly in control of the General Assembly waited until the U.S. Supreme Court gutted a key section of the Voting Rights Act before passing sweeping legislation aimed at limiting the power of Black voters.
Ten years later, a decision by an even more conservative Supreme Court may slow the rush by North Carolina Republicans to tilt elections in their favor.
In a surprise ruling released Thursday, the Supreme Court departed from its hostility toward voting rights by upholding a lower court decision that Alabama’s congressional election district map illegally diluted the power of Black voters.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Allen v. Milligan raises hopes that the redrawing of North Carolina’s congressional maps for the 2024 election may limit how much Republican lawmakers can dilute Black – read Democratic – voting power.
Common Cause North Carolina, a group that has mounted legal challenges to the legislature’s attempt to expand gerrymandering and limit Black voting power, applauded the court’s rebuke of Alabama.
“Today’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court is a victory for American democracy and voters everywhere. This decision should serve as a clear warning to North Carolina politicians that racist gerrymandering and attacks on voting rights will not stand,” said Bob Phillips, the group’s executive director.
The Cook Political Report immediately changed the prospect in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District represented by Don Davis, a Black Democrat, from “toss up” to “leans Democratic.”
David Wasserman, senior editor of the report, said the ruling makes it likely that Republican state legislators will not attempt to draw new maps aimed at electing an 11-3 GOP majority in North Carolina’s House seats. He said they are now more likely to give Davis a favorable shot at reelection with a 10-4 district map that would be less susceptible to a legal challenge.
“This ruling is a game changer for the overall picture in the (U.S.) House because it could affect what Republicans will try to do in North Carolina,” Wasserman said.
In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in Shelby v. Holder that it was unconstitutional to require states covered under the 1965 Voting Rights Act to submit their voting laws for preclearance by the U.S. Department of Justice. The court’s majority, in an opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, said racial progress had advanced enough that such oversight was no longer necessary.
That ruling opened the door for North Carolina to pass legislation that restricted voting in ways that disproportionately affected Black voters. A federal appeals court later struck down the law.
The Republican-controlled legislature is now considering a bill that would eliminate the three-day grace period for acceptance of mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and limit those who register and vote on the same day to casting only a provisional ballot.
“North Carolina politicians should take note of today’s ruling and reject attempts to undermine voting rights. We must protect everyone’s freedom to vote,” Phillips said.
As the legislature is preparing to redraw legislative and congressional maps for the 2024 election, Republican lawmakers were expected to have a free hand to shape districts in Republicans’ favor without judicial objections. The Supreme Court has deferred challenges to partisan gerrymandering to the states. The N.C. Supreme Court has indicated it does not want to interfere in a redistricting process that belongs to the legislature.
Thursday’s ruling, however, suggests that there may yet be limits to how much the legislature can distort the voting process.
The U.S. Supreme Court, facing widespread criticism for its rulings on voting rights, abortion and federal regulatory powers, may also be realizing the limits of its conservative activism.
If so, Thursday was a good day for democracy in North Carolina.
