A three-judge panel in the U.S. District Court in the Middle District of North Carolina has issued a decision declaring that the congressional district boundaries drawn by the state are unconstitutional. The General Assembly expressly directed the legislators and consultant responsible for drawing the 2016 Plan to rely on 'political data' – that is, past election results specifying whether, and to what extent, particular voting precincts had favored Republican or Democratic candidates, and therefore were likely to do so in the future – to draw a districting plan that would ensure Republican candidates would prevail in the vast majority of the State's congressional districts, and would continue to do so in future elections. The current map of congressional districts does show one peculiarly shaped district, obviously the product of gerrymandering: the 12th: Derived from Wikipedia. But the 12th is one of two N.C. districts...(Read Full Post)