Justice
Scalia's Death Leaves North Carolina's Primary Election in Limbo
There are a number of voting-rights cases that need sorting out by the U.S. Supreme Court, in that state and beyond.
The death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia over the weekend has thrown the American political climate into chaos. Amid that upheaval, one of the first cases the remaining eight members of the court will decide concerns redistricting in North Carolina.
As CityLab reported last week, a federal court ruled on February 5 that North Carolina illegally used race as the predominant factor for redrawing its congressional districts in 2011. As a result, state legislators have been ordered to draw new, fairer districts by February 19—despite the fact that hundreds of residents have already mailed in absentee ballots for the March 15 primary election.