North Carolina court strikes down state house districts as unconstitutional gerrymander

On Tuesday, the News & Observerreported that a state court in North Carolina has ruled the state's legislative districts unconstitutional due to an extreme pro-GOP gerrymander, and must be redrawn ahead of the 2020 election.

The ruling is part of a lawsuit filed by Democrats and anti-gerrymandering activists, arguing that the GOP intentionally drew districts to prevent Democratic voters from electing as many legislators as their presence in the population. It may ultimately be appealed to the state Supreme Court, where liberals hold a 6-1 majority.

State Sen. Jeff Jackson tweeted his support for the decision:

If the ruling holds, it would ensure a fairly elected legislature in time for redistricting at the congressional level in 2021, which has also faced controversy as a partisan gerrymander. The Supreme Court opted to leave the congressional map in place in a ruling this summer.