North Carolina: a gerrymandering case study, and a power shift tucked into hurricane relief

The Brennan Center for Justice has documented how North Carolina's Republican legislature drew congressional and legislative maps that lock in a partisan advantage well beyond the party's share of the statewide vote.

In December 2024, weeks after Democrats won the governor's and attorney general's races, the legislature passed a bill presented as Hurricane Helene relief that also shifted powers away from those offices, including control over appointments to the state elections board. Lawmakers overrode Gov. Roy Cooper's veto to enact it.