Voting rights advocates in Greensboro rallied against a North Carolina case that’s now being heard in the U.S. Supreme Court.
A steady downpour didn’t stop a group of people from gathering in downtown Greensboro to air their concerns that a victory for the plaintiffs in Moore v. Harper would make it harder to appeal unfairly drawn Congressional maps.
Channelle James says she worries about a future where fighting gerrymandered districts will be harder regardless of which party draws the maps.
“To think that even our right to appeal that the districts might not be right, and have that gone away," she says. "It makes you kinda mad to think that somebody might want to take our rights away.”
The case arose from the latest attempt by North Carolina's Republican-led legislature to draw U.S. House districts favoring GOP candidates.
At issue in Wednesday's arguments is whether state courts can strike down U.S. House maps passed by state lawmakers for violating state constitutions.
North Carolina's Republican legislative leaders are asserting an “independent state legislature” theory — claiming the U.S. Constitution gives no role to state courts in federal election disputes. The outcome could affect similar lawsuits pending in state courts in Kentucky, New Mexico and Utah.
It also could have implications in New York and Ohio, where state courts previously struck down U.S. House districts.