## Facts

- Fourteen North Carolina voters sued state legislative leaders and the State Board of Elections, challenging the congressional districts enacted in 2016 (S.L. 2016-1).
- The 2016 plan was enacted after an earlier congressional map was invalidated in federal court as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, requiring a remedial map.
- Plaintiffs alleged the 2016 plan was intentionally drawn to secure a durable partisan advantage and to preserve a 10–3 partisan split in the congressional delegation despite a near-even statewide partisan balance.
- Plaintiffs asserted the plan constituted an extreme partisan gerrymander violating the North Carolina Constitution’s Free Elections Clause, Equal Protection Clause, and guarantees of free speech and assembly.
- Plaintiffs sought declaratory relief, a permanent injunction against the 2016 plan, and a preliminary injunction to prevent its use in the 2020 congressional elections.
- A three-judge panel was convened under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-267.1 and set an expedited schedule due to impending 2020 election deadlines.
- Three incumbent members of Congress were permitted to intervene to defend the 2016 plan.

## Issues

1. Whether partisan-gerrymandering claims brought under the North Carolina Constitution are justiciable in state court, notwithstanding federal political-question doctrine.
2. Whether plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits that the 2016 congressional plan violated the North Carolina Constitution’s Free Elections, Equal Protection, and speech/assembly provisions.
3. Whether the equitable prerequisites for preliminary injunctive relief (irreparable harm, balance of hardships, and public interest) favored enjoining use of the 2016 plan for the 2020 primary elections.

## Decision

- The three-judge panel held the state-constitutional claims were justiciable and not barred by federal nonjusticiability principles.
- The court granted a preliminary injunction barring legislative and election officials from preparing for or administering the 2020 primary elections under the 2016 congressional districts (S.L. 2016-1).
- The court concluded plaintiffs had shown a likelihood of success on the merits and that use of the challenged map would cause irreparable constitutional injury.
- The court directed that remedial action should occur promptly and indicated the legislature could adopt a new map; the court did not draw districts itself.
- After the General Assembly enacted a remedial plan in November 2019 (S.L. 2019-249), the court temporarily stayed candidate filing to permit review, then allowed the 2020 elections to proceed under the new plan and lifted the stay in December 2019.

## Legal Principles

- State courts may adjudicate partisan-gerrymandering claims under the North Carolina Constitution when plaintiffs allege districting was enacted with predominant partisan intent and produces severe partisan entrenchment.
- Federal decisions finding federal partisan-gerrymandering claims nonjusticiable do not prevent state courts from enforcing state constitutional protections governing elections.
- A congressional map likely violates the North Carolina Constitution where intentional partisan manipulation materially burdens the right to “free” elections and denies equal protection, and where it penalizes voters based on political expression or association.
- Preliminary injunctive relief is appropriate in election cases where plaintiffs show likely constitutional violations and irreparable harm to voting rights, even if election administration timelines must be adjusted to provide effective relief.

## Conclusion

The court preliminarily enjoined use of North Carolina’s 2016 congressional map for the 2020 elections, holding that extreme partisan-gerrymandering claims are justiciable under the state constitution and that plaintiffs were likely to prove the map unlawfully entrenched partisan power in violation of state constitutional voting and expressive-association protections.


Harper v. Lewis, No. 19 CVS 012667 (N.C. Super. Ct. 2019)