2021-12-16 09:39

This case is one of intentional racial discrimination in violation of the North Carolina Constitution, unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering in violation of the North Carolina Constitution, and the legal need for a reckoning with a General Assembly that has no respect for the rule of law, the rulings of the North Carolina Supreme Court, or co-equal judicial institutions at all. [...] From the beginning of this process, the Defendant Chairs of the Senate Committee on Redistricting and Elections and the House Committee on Redistricting (the “Redistricting Chairs” of the “Redistricting Committees”) have, despite warnings from citizens and legislators of color, stated their intention to contravene the North Carolina Constitution, as interpreted by the North Carolina Supreme Court. [...] These actions directly contravene the North Carolina Constitution, including: (1) the requirements of the North Carolina Constitution, which affirms the supremacy of federal law under Sections 3 and 5 of Article I; and (2) the requirement that legislators first consider the data necessary to ensure satisfaction of the requirements of federal law in drawing state legislative districts, as explained. [...] In addition to these requirements, Article I, Section 3 of the North Carolina Constitution provides that the rights of the people of North Carolina “shall be exercised in pursuance of law and consistently with the Constitution of the United States,” and Article I, Section 5 of the North Carolina Constitution prohibits a law or ordinance in North Carolina from contravening the federal Constitution. [...] Here, “the object of all elections is to ascertain, fairly and truthfully, the will of the people − the qualified voters,” and “the machinery provided by the law to aid in attaining the main object − the will of the voters.