The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to gut the federal Voting Rights Act is already rippling through American politics, leading to postponed elections and triggering a new rush to redraw congressional districts– just months ahead of the 2026 midterm election.
The Supreme Court’s April 29 decision in Louisiana v. Callais is returning the United States to an era of racial gerrymandering– the practice of drawing districts to minimize the political influence of minority voters. This could change how leaders draw electoral district lines at all levels of government, from Congress to local school boards.
What does this mean for North Carolina and the rest of the country? Let’s take a look.
North Carolina
Having redrawn their congressional maps 5 times over the last 6 years, North Carolina is no stranger to redistricting. The most recent redraw was in October of last year, when MAGA legislators heeded the call of President Trump to further tilt the state’s electoral maps in favor of Republicans.
Despite North Carolina being a purple state, Republican legislators drew Congressional maps that could give their party 11 out of 14 seats in the House of Representatives. They achieved this by gerrymandering the 1st Congressional District, a majority-minority district currently represented by Democrat Don Davis.
Donald Trump won just over 50% of the vote in North Carolina in 2024. Now, his party is looking at controlling over 75% of its House seats.
Since North Carolina’s maps are already severely gerrymandered in favor of Republicans, it’s looking unlikely that they will redraw the maps again. North Carolina has also already held its primary election, essentially sealing in the state’s current maps through 2026. If anything, the Callais decision just provided further legal cover for the already extreme gerrymandering that had taken place just 6 months prior.
2030 is a different story. Electoral districts are typically redrawn after the census. Due to its growing population, North Carolina will likely receive another congressional district– creating a partisan pickup opportunity that could affect the drawing of every district. More aggressive, partisan, potentially racially-motivated gerrymanders could follow.
In the meantime, voters in other states, especially those across the South, could see quite a few changes in the coming months.
The Rest of the South
Tennessee was the first to redraw its maps, splitting Democratic Memphis into three Republican-leaning districts. One neighborhood has been split into two separate districts, meaning that neighbors will be casting different ballots despite living across the street from each other.
Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina are also moving closer to redistricting. Republican leaders in Alabama and Louisiana have rescheduled their states’ primary elections to allow time to gerrymander new maps, while South Carolina has extended its legislative calendar to buy time for redistricting.
Black communities will likely be targeted in each of these states. In Louisiana, maps have been proposed that would eliminate one or both of the state’s Black-majority House districts. In South Carolina, Rep. James Clyburn, who represents a Democratic district, could be split into as many as 6 other Congressional districts to dilute the power of Black voters.
Florida and Texas have also redrawn their maps as part of the national redistricting fight sparked by President Trump. Virginia Democrats attempted to redraw their maps as a counter, but the Virginia Supreme Court struck down those changes. As it currently stands, Republicans stand to gain as many as 8 seats as a result of recent gerrymandering efforts.
The Path to Fair Maps
Voters, especially those in North Carolina, want fair representation. 55% of Americans say that redrawing districts to win more seats in the House is bad for democracy. 84% of North Carolina voters say it’s never acceptable for politicians to draw districts to help their own party win more seats, no matter the circumstances.
The next opportunity for North Carolinians to weigh in on voting rights and fair maps will be in November, when all 170 state legislative seats and one Supreme Court seat are on the ballot.
State legislators are responsible for drawing North Carolina’s Congressional maps, and the NC Supreme Court is traditionally responsible for reining in gerrymandering. It was a Republican majority on the NC Supreme Court that opened the door to partisan gerrymandering in 2023, and it was a Republican majority that enacted gerrymandered maps in the following years.
In the NC Supreme Court race, incumbent Justice Anita Earls– a former civil rights attorney who was one of two Justices to dissent against the Court’s ruling that enabled partisan gerrymandering– is running against Rep. Sarah Stevens– who voted in favor of those gerrymandered maps.
It’s a rare opportunity where voters will be able to choose between Stevens, an architect of gerrymandered maps, and Earls, an advocate for fair maps. The results of this election could determine the future of North Carolinians’ maps and voting rights for years to come.
