North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP v. Berger

In 2023, North Carolina legislators enacted a congressional map that diluted the voice and voting power of Black North Carolinians. Plaintiffs sued to enjoin that map. After a trial on the merits, North Carolina engaged in unprecedented mid-decade redistricting to target Black voters in Congressional District 1.

North Carolina’s General Assembly redrew the State’s 14 congressional districts in 2023. Black voters, the North Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, and Common Cause sued to enjoin that congressional plan because it discriminates against Black voters. A trial on the merits of those claims concluded earlier this year.

Before the federal district court had a chance to rule on the merits of Plaintiffs’ claims, the General Assembly changed the congressional map yet again. The State targeted Plaintiffs and other voters in Congressional District 1 (CD 1), part of the historic Black Belt in northeastern North Carolina. The lead map-drawer admitted that this effort was undertaken to make sure CD 1 is represented by a Republican, and that he is aware of the substantial Black population in CD 1.

For decades, Black voters in CD 1 have had the opportunity to band together to make their voices heard at the ballot box. But this redistricting cleaves off thousands of Black voters from CD 1, moving them into a district with communities with whom they have little in common and erasing their longstanding ties to fellow voters in CD 1.

This gratuitous mid-decade redistricting is unprecedented. The U.S. Constitution directs States to reapportion congressional maps following the decennial census. Until this year, North Carolina had only redrawn its congressional map in the middle of the decade because of a court order.

Plaintiffs filed a supplemental complaint on October 27th, bringing constitutional and statutory claims against the 2025 redistricting, including for free speech retaliation, violation of their right to petition, and intentional discrimination. Plaintiffs urge the federal court to enjoin the State from holding elections under the new map. The ACLU and ACLU of North Carolina joined existing counsel Southern Coalition for Social Justice and Hogan Lovells to file the supplemental complaint.