here’s what really happened…

  • November 2010 - NC Republicans win Super Majority
  • January 26, 2011 - They start to work
  • ~ 4 months later
  • June 7, 2011 - NC Republicans unveil new districts
  • November 1, 2011 - New districts get preclearence
  • November 3, 2011 - Lawsuit filed for isolating black citizens in a small # of districts
  • July 8, 2013 - Districts upheld by 3 judge panel
  • December, 2014 - Districts upheld by NC Supreme Court
  • April 20, 2015 - US Supreme Court told NC to take another look (due to racial gerrymandering)
  • December 18, 2015 - Districts upheld again by NC Supreme Court (says race was a factor)
  • February 5, 2016 - Two districts ruled racially gerrymandered by 3 judge panel (ordered them redrawn within two weeks)
  • February 18, 2016 - NC Republicans hold Special Session to redraw maps (Republican leaders say they intend to maintain 10-3 partisan split)
  • August 5, 2016 - Lawsuit filed for partisan gerrymandering (by League of Women Voters, etc)
  • May 22, 2017 - US Supreme Court rules that districts were designed to dilute the voice of black voters
  • January 9, 2018 - Three judge panel finds that NC Republicans violated the US Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause
  • June 25, 2018 - US Supreme Court sends case back to District Court
  • August 27, 2018 - District Court again finds districts are unconstitutionally gerrymandered

so, they drew the gerrymandered districts originally in 4 months. they’ve now been fighting to keep the gerrymandered districts (thus keeping power) for 7 years, 7 months, 29 days.

four months. almost 8 years.