NC House Speaker hints at lame duck legislative session to redraw congressional districts

The North Carolina General Assembly may gather again after the November elections to redraw the state's congressional districts, Speaker of the House Tim Moore told WRAL News.

“We may look at doing this in December,” Speaker of the House Tim Moore said during this weekend’s episode of “On the Record,” WRAL’s weekly news roundtable program.

Redrawing the map could produce boundaries more likely to elect Republicans compared to the current map which, based on past election results, is expected to elect seven Republicans and six Democrats. There’s also one district in the current map that could go either way.

The map the General Assembly’s Republican majority proposed, and which the state Supreme Court cast aside, looked like a 10-4 Republican advantage, though four of the districts were considered competitive, based on past election results.

Republican lawmakers roundly criticized the court-ordered map when it was handed down. Moore said lawmakers would be “foolish” not to rework it.

Holding a December session would allow lawmakers in office now to redraw the map instead of waiting for legislators elected in the coming November elections to take office in January.

Republicans are widely expected to maintain their majorities at the statehouse after those elections, though it is possible Democrats could win control of at least one chamber, making it difficult for Republicans to pass their preferred map.

Any new map is likely to trigger another round of litigation, too.

The December session plan is not set, and it would require the state Senate to come along.

“The Senate is focused on finishing the policy work of the short session, and no decision has been made about future redistricting plans,” Lauren Horsch, spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger, said in a text message.