North Carolina
NC House Speaker hints at lame duck legislative session to redraw congressional districts
The North Carolina Normal Meeting might collect once more after the November elections to redraw the state’s congressional districts, Speaker of the Home Tim Moore informed WRAL Information.
The map is already set for this yr’s elections, following a back-and-forth of legislative redraws and the court-ordered establishment of the present map. However that map is barely required for the 2022 elections, and the Normal Meeting has at all times been anticipated to redraw it in some unspecified time in the future earlier than the 2024 congressional elections.
“We might have a look at doing this in December,” Speaker of the Home Tim Moore mentioned throughout this weekend’s episode of “On the Report,” WRAL’s weekly information roundtable program.
Redrawing the map may produce boundaries extra more likely to elect Republicans in comparison with the present map which, based mostly on previous election outcomes, is predicted to elect seven Republicans and 6 Democrats. There’s additionally one district within the present map that would go both method.
The map the Normal Meeting’s Republican majority proposed, and which the state Supreme Courtroom solid apart, appeared like a 10-4 Republican benefit, although 4 of the districts have been thought of aggressive, based mostly on previous election outcomes.
Republican lawmakers roundly criticized the court-ordered map when it was handed down. Moore mentioned lawmakers can be “silly” to not rework it.
Holding a December session would permit lawmakers in workplace now to redraw the map as an alternative of ready for legislators elected within the coming November elections to take workplace in January.
Republicans are extensively anticipated to keep up their majorities on the statehouse after these elections, although it’s doable Democrats may win management of at the very least one chamber, making it tough for Republicans to move their most well-liked map.
Any new map is more likely to set off one other spherical of litigation, too.
The December session plan shouldn’t be set, and it will require the state Senate to come back alongside.
“The Senate is targeted on ending the coverage work of the brief session, and no determination has been made about future redistricting plans,” Lauren Horsch, spokeswoman for Senate President Professional Tempore Phil Berger, mentioned in a textual content message.