Judge Rejects Racial Gerrymandering Claims in North Carolina Senate Maps

The plaintiffs argued that the maps violated the Voting Rights Act by failing to create a majority-black district.

People walk on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in Chapel Hill, N.C., on June 29, 2023. Eros Hoagland/Getty Images

A judge has rejected claims that voters in two North Carolina legislative districts were the victims of racial gerrymandering.

U.S. District Judge James Dever ruled on Sept. 30 that Republicans did not illegally manipulate the boundaries of the two northeastern state districts to favor candidates.