The U.S.
Supreme Court on Monday threw out a lower court ruling that required
North Carolina to urgently redraw state legislative districts found to
have been be mapped out in a way that diluted the electoral clout of
black voters.ING
The high court, with no recorded dissents, sent back the
case to a three-judge federal district court panel, which had ruled in
November that the state should draw new districts and hold a special
election. The Supreme Court in January put that ruling on hold while it
decided whether to hear the state’s appeal.
The Supreme Court separately left in place an earlier ruling
by the same court from last August that said the districts were racial
“gerrymanders,” with boundaries drawn to diminish the voting power of
minorities, and violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal
protection under the law.
