RALEIGH — A federal court challenge to North Carolina’s new congressional map was dropped earlier this month, with the two sets of plaintiffs filing a stipulation of dismissal.
The cases involved are Williams et al. v. Hall and NAACP v. Berger, and neither set of plaintiffs can refile suit challenging the new congressional map as the cases were dismissed with prejudice.
Last fall, a three-judge panel refused to block the map for this year’s elections, issuing a Nov. 26 ruling five days before candidate filing opened for the 2026 elections.
Plaintiffs made malapportionment claims from mid-decade redistricting, but the court said it found no evidence of severe deviations and noted a Supreme Court precedent allowing the use of 2020 census data in the redraw. The court also said plaintiffs failed to “make it clear” there would be minority voter dilution in those districts.
The Republican-led General Assembly redrew the map last October through Senate Bill 249, shifting two districts: District 1, currently held by Rep. Don Davis (D-Snow Hill), and District 3, held by Rep. Greg Murphy (R-Greenville).
There are no other challenges to the new map, which could potentially shift the state’s U.S. House delegation by flipping Davis’ seat, giving Republicans an 11-3 advantage in the 2026 midterms.
