RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — North Carolina Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue called a lawsuit over racial gerrymandering a “glimmer of hope” Tuesday, following redistricting in October that cemented GOP control of the North Carolina legislature.
In a suit filed Monday, two Black voters sued the North Carolina Board of Elections over gerrymandered election maps, claiming the General Assembly failed to comply with the Voting Rights Act and diluted Black votes.
“As public servants our oath applies to all citizens, not just those with which we agree,” Blue said. “(The) court filing provides a glimmer of hope to our fellow citizens in eastern North Carolina who have long felt their government has assaulted their constitutionally guaranteed freedoms.”
Senate Bill 758 splits Black voters in the northeastern region of North Carolina across multiple districts, in an area where voting is “highly polarized among racial lines,” the plaintiffs say in the lawsuit.
Under the Voting Rights Act, the General Assembly was required to analyze evidence of racial polarization before drawing districts. They also had to consider the racial composition of each county in North Carolina, and an expert opinion provided by the Southern Coalition for Social Justice about racially polarized voting in the Black Belt during recent elections.
“During the latest round of redistricting, Senate Democrats made repeated attempts to warn our Republican colleagues of the blatant racial gerrymandering incorporated in their plan,” said Blue. “We provided multiple alternative maps to the Republican majority which would have complied with the Voting Rights Act and protected the constitutional rights of all North Carolinians. Unfortunately, they rejected simple fixes and decided to roll the dice hoping the courts wouldn’t have time to intervene before the 2024 election.”
Plaintiff Rodney Pierce, a lifelong North Carolina resident, has been reassigned to Senate District 2, which is spread out over more than 160 miles and is a majority-white district. Plaintiff Moses Matthews has been registered to vote in North Carolina since 1976, and has also been reassigned to Senate District 2. Both Plaintiffs live in areas where a majority-Black district could have been drawn.
Historically, voters in the “Black Belt counties” of northeastern North Carolina are politically cohesive and vote along racial lines. Black voters overwhelmingly support Democrats and the white majority overwhelmingly supports Republican candidates.
The plaintiffs claim SB 758’s split of the Black Belt counties dilute Black voters’ electoral strength, which violates the Voting Rights Act and prevents them from having the opportunity to elect the candidates they vote for.
“The plan enacted by the General Assembly in late October splits, cracks, and packs Black voters to dilute their votes and blunt their ability to fully participate in the democratic process,” said Blue. “For example, there are eight counties in North Carolina that are majority Black in population, and they are all in eastern North Carolina… The map enacted by the General Assembly divides these eight counties among four separate districts. This is ‘cracking’ on steroids.”
The Black voting age population makes up 21% of North Carolina voters, but in Bertie, Hertford, Edgecombe, Northampton and Halifax counties — all in the Black Belt — over 50% of the voting population is Black.
The plaintiffs say it “was feasible to create a majority-minority district while leaving fully intact the current minority opportunity district” in multiple counties.
“As the plaintiffs in this case note, SCSJ informed the General Assembly while proposed maps were being considered in October of the clear Voting Rights Act violation in a new Senate plan,” said Hilary Harris Klein, senior counsel for voting rights at Southern Coalition for Social Justice. “We agree that the claims recently filed require judicial intervention to protect the rights of North Carolina’s voters.”
“I am confident the court will see this blatant injustice and move swiftly to adopt a remedy, restoring the people’s faith in our shared democratic process,” said Blue.
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