In this photo taken Wednesday, July 26, 2017 a member of the gallery tries to display her sign while lawmakers convene during a joint select committee meeting on redistricting in Raleigh, N.C. North Carolina's nearly continuous legal battles this decade over how maps for state district boundaries are drawn don't end with a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision refusing to try to recalibrate boundaries to repair aggrieved political imbalances. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
The Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Opponents of North Carolina's district maps are putting their hopes in state courts after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal courts aren't the place to settle partisan gerrymandering disputes.
An election reform group, the state Democratic Party and voters will go to court next month to try to persuade state judges that Republican-drawn General Assembly districts discriminate against Democrats based on political beliefs and voting history.
Voting-rights advocates across the country have vowed to turn to state litigation after Chief Justice John Roberts wrote Thursday that federal courts have no authority to determine whether partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional.
The pending case filed in Wake County court marks at least the eighth lawsuit challenging North Carolina maps since 2011.
In this photo taken Wednesday, July 26, 2017 a lawmaker studies a district map during a joint select committee meeting on redistricting in Raleigh, N.C. North Carolina's nearly continuous legal battles this decade over how maps for state district boundaries are drawn don't end with a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision refusing to try to recalibrate boundaries to repair aggrieved political imbalances. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken Wednesday, July 26, 2017 Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, standing center, leads lawmakers during a joint select committee meeting on redistricting in Raleigh, N.C. North Carolina's nearly continuous legal battles this decade over how maps for state district boundaries are drawn don't end with a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision refusing to try to recalibrate boundaries to repair aggrieved political imbalances. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken Wednesday, July 26, 2017 a lawmaker studies a district map during a joint select committee meeting on redistricting in Raleigh, N.C. North Carolina's nearly continuous legal battles this decade over how maps for state district boundaries are drawn don't end with a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision refusing to try to recalibrate boundaries to repair aggrieved political imbalances.(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
The Associated Press
In this photo taken Wednesday, July 26, 2017 a lawmaker holds a districting map during a joint select committee meeting on redistricting in Raleigh, N.C. North Carolina's nearly continuous legal battles this decade over how maps for state district boundaries are drawn don't end with a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision refusing to try to recalibrate boundaries to repair aggrieved political imbalances. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
The Associated Press