CASE SUMMARY

On October 31, 2019, several registered North Carolinian voters and a N.C. Congressional candidate filed suit against the President Pro Tempore of the N.C. Senate, the Speaker of the N.C. House, the State Board of Elections, and other state election officials. In an earlier case decided on October 28, 2016, Harper v. Lewis, a state court issued a decision granting a preliminary injunction that prevented the use of North Carolina's 2016 congressional plan in upcoming elections, leaving the State Legislature to decide whether to appeal that decision or to redraw its maps prior to the 2020 elections. The plaintiffs in this case claimed that the they had undertaken substantial campaigning and electoral activities in anticipation of the 2020 congressional elections being conducted using existing congressional maps, and alleged that if changes were made to the existing districts at this time, it would substantially increase their costs and workload and would lead to substantial confusion and uncertainty among voters, candidates, and campaign operations. The plaintiffs sought a court declaration that any changes to the election districts after the election cycle began on December 2, 2020, would violate the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs and others similarly situated to vote and participate in an electoral structure that protects the integrity of the election process. They requested a temporary and permanent injunction barring the defendants from enforcing, implementing, or giving any effort to enforce a congressional election based on a map or plan different from the one currently enacted by the State Legislature.

On December 5, 2019, the plaintiffs filed a notice of voluntary dismissal of the action, thereby closing the case.

CASE LIBRARY

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina - No. 2:19-cv-00037

Brewster v. Berger (2019)
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