North Carolina Democratic Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls, who is up for reelection, said the court should return to a 2022 ruling that found extreme partisan gerrymandering violated the state constitution.
Earls was in Charlotte on Friday campaigning in her race against Republican Sarah Stevens in November. She made an appearance at Manolo’s Bakery on Central Avenue.
Four years ago, Democrats held a 4-3 advantage on the North Carolina Supreme Court. The majority, which included Earls, found the state’s legislative and congressional maps unconstitutional because they overwhelmingly favored Republicans.
A court-appointed special master later drew a congressional map that resulted in an even split, with Democrats and Republicans each winning seven seats.
A year later, Republicans took control of the court and reversed that decision.
This year, during the national redistricting wars, Republicans drew a new map that favors them in 11 of the state’s 14 congressional seats.
Earls said the 2022 ruling would also prevent Democrats from drawing an extreme gerrymander, should they ever win majorities in the General Assembly.
“(We had) neutral criteria that you can apply to any map — that is what we said should be used to determine compliance with the state constitution,” Earls said in an interview. “So it wouldn’t matter if Democrats or Republicans drew the map, if it was an extreme partisan gerrymander, it would violate North Carolinians' rights.”
This year, Republicans kicked off a redistricting fight after President Trump lobbied Texas lawmakers to redraw their map to help the GOP. Democratic-controlled California then responded with a new map of its own.
Other red and blue states have redrawn their maps.
In Virginia, Democrats attempted to draw a map that would have favored them in 10 of the state’s 11 congressional seats. Earls was asked whether she would be OK with a similar map in North Carolina, as Democrats try to counter new Republican maps from other states.
“Well I don’t know because it’s a matter of just looking at the data,” she said.
The court currently has five Republicans and two Democrats. Earls is up for reelection this year, and three Republican justices are on the ballot in 2028.
