Federal judge upholds North Carolina state Senate maps

A federal judge has upheld North Carolina’s state Senate map, rejecting claims that it illegally diluted Black voting power. Two voters in eastern North Carolina had sued, arguing the Republican-drawn map illegally split up Black communities, but Judge James Dever, a George W. Bush appointee, rejected their arguments today, saying the map did not violate the Voting Rights Act. The ruling is a win for Republican lawmakers, and it comes just as GOP leaders are weighing whether to redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of the midterms.