UPDATE: On Dec. 15, the Wake County Superior Court granted Common Cause’s motion to intervene in North Carolina League of Conservation Voters et al. 그리고 Harper et al. v. Hall.

Read the court’s order here.

RALEIGH – Voting rights group Common Cause moved to intervene on Monday in North Carolina’s consolidated redistricting lawsuit, North Carolina League of Conservation Voters et al. 그리고 Harper et al. v. Hall. The Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) and pro bono counsel from Hogan Lovells filed the motion in Wake County Superior Court on behalf of Common Cause.

In the complaint, Common Cause is seeking to renew its earlier challenges from the state’s first redistricting lawsuit, NC NAACP 대 버거, which was filed before final maps were passed and alleged that the North Carolina Legislature’s process for drawing state legislative and Congressional voting maps ignored long-standing precedent and resulted in extreme partisan gerrymanders in violation of the North Carolina State Constitution. The motion to intervene now challenges the Legislature’s maps themselves, alleging that state legislators crafted illegal partisan gerrymanders with devastating consequences for Black voters and their ability to elect the candidates of their choice.

“We believe the Legislature’s redistricting process not only created an unfair partisan advantage, but resulted in maps that decimate representation for our state’s Black communities,” said Hilary Harris Klein, Voting Rights Counsel with SCSJ. “We look forward to making our case to the three-judge panel and ensuring all voices are heard in our collective fight for fair, equitable, and constitutional maps in North Carolina.”

Bob Phillips, Executive Director of state Common Cause affiliate Common Cause NC called the legislative and Congressional districts “extreme gerrymanders,” and says the expedited lawsuit is necessary to avoid another decade of distorted North Carolina voting maps.

“Throughout this year’s redistricting process, we and residents across the state called on lawmakers to follow the law and put the people of North Carolina above partisan politics. Instead, politicians in the legislature brazenly ignored the law, crafting extreme gerrymanders for their own power at the expense of free and fair elections,” said Bob Phillips, Executive Director of Common Cause NC. “Our state’s voting districts don’t belong to politicians, they belong to the people. We can’t allow our state to suffer for yet another decade under illegal maps. We must stand up and demand fair voting districts that follow the constitution, are free from gerrymandering and respect every voter’s right to have a voice in choosing their representatives. We are confident that the people of North Carolina will prevail.”

On December 8, the North Carolina Supreme Court ordered a trial for parties involved in 보존 유권자 연맹 대 홀 and delayed the state’s primary elections from March 8, 2022 to May 17, 2022. The state Supreme Court has ordered the three-judge panel to provide a decision no later than January 11, 2022.

Common Cause는 미국 민주주의의 핵심 가치를 옹호하는 비당파적 풀뿌리 조직입니다. 우리는 공익을 위해 봉사하는 개방적이고 정직하며 책임감 있는 정부를 만들고, 모든 사람을 위한 평등한 권리, 기회 및 대표를 촉진하고, 모든 사람이 정치 과정에서 자신의 목소리를 낼 수 있도록 힘을 실어줍니다.

2007년에 설립된 남부사회정의연합은 남부지역의 유색인종과 경제적으로 불리한 지역 사회와 협력하여 법률 옹호, 연구, 조직 및 커뮤니케이션을 결합하여 정치적, 사회적, 경제적 권리를 옹호하고 증진합니다.

글로벌 로펌인 호건 러벨스는 정의에 대한 접근성과 법치주의에 초점을 맞춘 획기적인 사회적 발전을 지원하는 오랜 전통을 가지고 있습니다. 변호사로서 우리는 이러한 헌신이 우리의 전문적 관행의 일부임을 인식하고 있으며, 우리는 다른 사람들을 위해 지속적인 영향을 미치기 위해 매년 150,000시간 이상의 무료 변호 시간을 보냅니다.

미디어 연락처:

Bryan Warner, BWarner@commoncause.org, 919-836-0027; Common Cause NC
Sailor Jones, sailor@scsj.org, 919-260-5906; SCSJ
지노 누졸릴로, gino@scsj.org, 402-415-4763; SCSJ
리첸야 A. 도드, ritchenya.dodd@hoganlovells.com, 212-918-6155; 호건 러벨스