North Carolina’s highest court on Friday ruled that state law does not bar lawmakers from drawing congressional and state legislative maps for partisan benefit, boosting Republicans’ odds next year of maintaining their narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The decision – divided along party lines – appears to clear the way for the Republican-controlled legislature to craft new, political advantageous maps for the 2024 elections, which could net them as many as four additional U.S. House seats.
Republicans currently control the 435-member House by a narrow nine-seat margin.
Friday’s ruling vacated the court’s previous decision, issued barely more than a year ago when Democratic judges controlled the court, that had found partisan gerrymandering violated the state constitution.
After the court threw out a Republican-drawn map, the two parties split the state’s 14 seats evenly in November under a court-approved map.
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