Supreme Court blocks redraw of North Carolina congressional maps

Thomson Reuters

(Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a lower court's order for North Carolina to rework its congressional map because Republicans violated the Constitution by drawing electoral districts intended to maximize their party's chances of winning.

The conservative-majority court granted a bid by Republican legislators in North Carolina to suspend the Jan. 9 order by a federal court panel in Greensboro that gave the Republican-controlled General Assembly until Jan. 24 to come up with a new map for U.S. House of Representatives districts.

Two liberal justices objected to the high court's action.

The Supreme Court's decision to stay the order reduces the chance that the current district lines will be altered ahead of the November mid-term congressional elections.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Editing by Will Dunham)

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