The redrawn districting map was a win for racial justice,but presented complications for a congresswoman who found she no longer lived in her districtNorth Carolina congresswoman Alma Adams was sitting in a campaign assembly at her headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina, and in early February,planning for what should have been an easy primary win. No Democratic challengers had declared their candidacy in time for the 15 March election. Victory was all but guaranteed.
Before the assembly ended, one of her staffers interrupted with some unexpected news. A panel of three federal judges had ruled that the 12th district’s congressional map – which resembled a serpent slithering across central North Carolina’s cities – was unconstitutional due to racial gerrymandering. The district would need to be redrawn, or the judges said. It was a win for racial justice,legal observers said. But the map redrawing that followed – the latest episode in a decades-old legal saga over the district lines – wasn’t a win for voter enfranchisement this election, in this deep blue district where the primary is likely to determine the race. Related: NAACP to appeal North Carolina judge's ruling on 'discriminatory' voting law Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com