Republican leaders in the General Assembly are asking the new GOP majority on the state's Supreme Court to revisit rulings on redistricting and voter ID.

Until the beginning of this year, a majority of justices on the the North Carolina Supreme Court were Democrats. The court threw out the state's voter ID law and decided legislative leaders used unconstitutional gerrymandering when redrawing political maps for congressional districts and General Assembly seats.

What You Need To Know

  •  GOP leaders want the North Carolina Supreme Court to rehear cases on voter ID and redistricting

  •  A new Republican majority took over the state Supreme Court this year

  •  Last year, the Democratic majority on the court tossed out the state's voter ID law and ruled that redistricting maps were unconstitutional because of gerrymandering

  • It will be up to the court to decide whether or not to revisit the rulings

"The people of North Carolina sent a message election day. They clearly rejected the judicial activism of the outgoing majority. I am committed to fighting for the rule of law and will of the voters," North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore said in a statement Friday.

"It's time for voter ID to be law, as the people of North Carolina have demanded," he said.

The court's Democratic majority, in a 4-3 decision, threw out the state's voter ID law on Dec. 16, with just weeks to go before Republicans took over as the majority on the court.

Republicans now have a 5-2 majority on the court and could potentially hear the case on voter ID again. The court could also reopen the case on redistricting.

"Holmes was wrongly decided based on a predetermined outcome. We now have a chance to right this wrong and deliver on voter ID, which the voters of this state overwhelmingly support," said Sam Hayes, general counsel for the House speaker.

In her opinion for the Democratic majority on the court in December, Associate Justice Anitta Earls said the state voter ID laws "were formulated with an impermissible intent to discriminate against African American voters in violation of the North Carolina Constitution.”

“We hold that the three-judge panel’s findings of fact are supported by competent evidence showing that the statute was motivated by a racially discriminatory purpose,” she wrote.

North Carolina Republicans have been pursuing a law requiring voters to show identification for more than a decade. The General Assembly passed a voter ID laws 2013, but it was struck down by a federal court. The latest state Supreme Court ruling struck down a similar 2018 law.

The court's ruling on redistricting last year ended a monthslong political and legal fight over drawing new electoral districts for seats in Congress and the General Assembly. GOP leaders have also appealed this ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the state legislature has full control over congressional elections, and the courts should not be able to intervene.