Judges rule North Carolina's gerrymandered map is unconstitutional, may have to be redrawn by November

A gavel.
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A three-judge federal panel ruled on Monday that because North Carolina's congressional districts were unconstitutionally gerrymandered to benefit Republicans over Democrats, new districts may have to be drawn ahead of the November elections.

North Carolina legislators put together a map where 10 of the state's 13 U.S. House districts are held by Republicans, and the federal judges said they are wary of giving lawmakers there another chance at drawing the congressional districts. Federal courts have twice ruled already that the districts violate parts of the Constitution, and the judges said that although North Carolina voters have already chosen candidates through primary elections, the court is not entirely comfortable allowing voting to take place in November with the current map.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.