The two Democratic justices on the court disagreed with the majority’s decision, with Justice Anita Earls writing that rehearing the redistricting decision was a “power grab” and a “radical break with 205 years of history.”
The GOP’s request for total control is not altogether surprising, as the courts have repeatedly found that North Carolina Republicans have gerrymandered and disenfranchised Black voters in the state with “almost surgical precision.”
Republicans pushed through temporary rules that omit a longstanding requirement that House leaders give at least two days' notice before holding a vote to override the governor's veto of a bill. The change, which likely will be debated when permanent rules surface, could allow Republicans to complete an override simply because one Democrat leaves to take a phone call.
North Carolina’s GOP lawmakers are not moving in mysterious ways this time. At the first opportunity, they will pounce on reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ rights.