The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request to speed up review of the lawsuit linked to North Carolina’s 2016 congressional election map.
In a two-sentence order issued Tuesday, Feb. 6, justices agreed 7-2 to deny a motion from plaintiff Common Cause. The left-of-center advocacy group wanted the Supreme Court to grant “an expedited briefing and oral argument schedule” in the case.
The order means that the high court is maintaining its stay — or block — on a three-judge panel’s earlier order tossing out the 2016 congressional map. The panel had ruled that the map was unconstitutional based on overly partisan gerrymandering. The panel ordered new election maps to be drawn for the 2018 election.
Unless the Supreme Court reverses course later this year, voters will use 2016 congressional election districts again this year. Candidate filing opens next week for the 13 U.S. House seats covered by the map.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor disagreed with the order. The same two justices had dissented from the Jan. 18 order creating the original stay of the lower court ruling.