Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The North Carolina Supreme Court has struck down a voter ID law while also blocking a newly redrawn state Senate map that would have given Republicans irrefutable control of that chamber.
The court on Friday also ruled that a revised state House map passed earlier in the year can go ahead.
All of the 4-3 rulings fell along party lines in the court, which currently has a Democratic majority.
A law that would have required photo identification at polls had faced a number of legal challenges and was never implemented. Friday's decision by the court found the law violates the equal protection guarantee of Article I, section 19 of the North Carolina Constitution.
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"No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws; nor shall any person be subjected to discrimination by the State because of race, color, religion, or national origin," the state's constitution reads.
However, the court also rubber-stamped two decisions made by legislators in February for new maps for the U.S. House of Representatives and state House districts. It also ruled a one-time map used for this year's election was constitutional.
"Such a plan is subject to strict scrutiny and is unconstitutional unless the General Assembly can demonstrate that the plan is 'narrowly tailored to advance a compelling governmental interest,'" the court ruled.
The order to redraw the state Senate map applies "only to the extent necessary to achieve constitutional compliance," state Supreme Court Associate Justice Robin Hudson wrote in the court's opinion.
The high court, meanwhile, ordered legislators to redraw district maps, ruling the gerrymandered congressional maps violate North Carolina's constitution. The legislative maps gave Republicans as many as 11 safe districts compared to just three for Democrats.
"We need to go back to the drawing board, and work in good faith to pass a voter ID law that will pass constitutional muster," Senate Democratic leader Dan Blue said in a statement.
"It is my hope that Republican lawmakers will redraw the legislative maps as needed to remedy gerrymandering and not use their majority to take advantage of the court decision and broadly redraw legislative maps to their benefit." he added. "We need to fix the problems in these maps, and not create more legal problems. Let's correct this, move on, and get to work addressing the challenges facing North Carolina families."
Republicans vowed to revisit the issues next year.
