Governor Cooper and Attorney General Stein file Amicus Brief urging court to address racial discrimination in state Senate map

Governor Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein filed an amicus brief in federal court that urges the court to address racial discrimination in the State senate map that violates the Voting Rights Act by diluting the power of Black voters. The plaintiffs in the case are two Black voters who live in northeastern North Carolina who have been drawn into a sprawling State senate district that stretches from the inland Virginia border in Warren County to Ocracoke Island and Emerald Isle in Carteret County. With the 2024 elections approaching, Governor Cooper and the Attorney General urged the court to immediately reject the obviously unlawful maps.

“Legislative Republicans have drawn districts that illegally discriminate against Black voters in their never-ending effort to entrench super-majorities that do not reflect the true will of North Carolina voters,” said Governor Cooper. “We are counting on our federal courts to enforce the landmark Voting Rights Act to ensure fair elections in 2024 and fair representation in the legislature.”

“The General Assembly is violating the protections guaranteed by the Voting Rights Act, protections that the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed just this past summer,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “Our state has a shameful legacy of discriminating against Black voters. It’s unlawful, and I will never stop fighting to make sure the people’s voting rights are protected.”

Governor Cooper and Attorney General Stein’s brief explains that,

“By separating Plaintiffs from other Black voters who live nearby, the new Senate districts will have the effect of preventing Black voters in northeastern North Carolina from electing candidates of their choice.” The legislature could have “with no difficulty,” drawn “a reasonably configured district” that empowered Black voters, but it chose not to.