NC NAACP v. Moore: The Impact of Unconstitutional Legislative Maps on a State Legislature's Ability to Propose Constitutional Amendments

In 2018, the North Carolina General Assembly placed several constitutional amendments before voters for ratification. Voters approved the amendments, which included amendments related to voter ID and a cap on the state income tax. But in August 2022, a sharply divided Supreme Court of North Carolina held that these amendments may be invalid. The majority's opinion focused on a federal court decision issued before the amendments were placed on the ballot which declared several of the state legislative districts to be the result of an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. It concluded that the General Assembly may have lost the ability to propose constitutional amendments given the fact that many of its members were elected from unconstitutionally gerrymandered legislative districts.Our panel of experts discussed this case and considered its implications for North Carolina and states across the country.Featuring:--Jeanette Doran, President and General Counsel, North Carolina Institute for Constitutional Law--Rick Glazier, Executive Director, North Carolina Justice Center--Prof. Derek T. Muller, Ben V. Willie Professor in Excellence, University of Iowa College of Law--Moderator: Hon. Robert T. Numbers, II, U.S. Magistrate Judge, Eastern District of North Carolina