The North Carolina Supreme Court handed Republicans several victories last week after the conservative majority court ruled on a number of election-related laws.
According to The Daily Wire, the state's high court kept Republican redistricting maps in place and also ruled to bring back the state's voter ID law.
Those rulings almost certainly wouldn't have happened prior to last November, when the state's high court went from a Democratic majority to a 5-3 Republican majority.
Not surprisingly, the voter ID law that was reinstated had originally been thrown out over claims of it unfairly targeting minorities.
The people of North Carolina overwhelmingly support voter identification and other efforts to promote greater integrity and confidence in our elections. Subjective tests and judicial sleight of hand have systematically thwarted the will of the people and the intent of the legislature," the Republicans on the high court wrote about the voter ID law.
It added:
“But no court exists for the vindication of political interests, and judges exceed constitutional boundaries when they act as a super-legislature,” the decision continued. “Plaintiffs here have failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that S.B. 824 was enacted with discriminatory intent or that the law actually produces a meaningful disparate impact along racial lines.”
The state Supreme Court's rulings on the election-related cases was widely celebrated across social media.
"Congratulations to North Carolina. The state Supreme Court just upheld the will of the voters and restored Voter ID! A victory for sanity and common sense. Now cue some Dem to say "But black people can't get IDs." One of the truly racist things Dems say and get away with," Charlie Kirk tweeted.
Congratulations to North Carolina. The state Supreme Court just upheld the will of the voters and restored Voter ID!
A victory for sanity and common sense.
Now cue some Dem to say "But black people can't get IDs." One of the truly racist things Dems say and get away with.
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) April 28, 2023
"The North Carolina Supreme Court just reinstated Voter ID laws and bans felons from voting in elections. Every state needs to follow in NC Supreme Court's footsteps. After all, who wouldn't want to have fair elections?" one Twitter user wrote.
The North Carolina Supreme Court just reinstated Voter ID laws and bans felons from voting in elections.
Every state needs to follow in NC Supreme Court's footsteps.
After all, who wouldn't want to have fair elections?#LetsAllJustBeHonest#VoteReform #ElectionIntegrity pic.twitter.com/vfVYU6dwxc
— 🇺🇸 Pat's World 🇺🇸 (@itspatsworld) April 28, 2023
As far as the redistricting issue, Republicans on the court wrote:
"Our constitution expressly assigns the redistricting authority to the General Assembly subject to explicit limitations in the text. Those limitations do not address partisan gerrymandering."
That's a massive win for Republicans in the state, as they can undoubtedly use that power to gain ground in 2024.
Only time will tell if North Carolina will shift further to the right, but it looks like it's on its way there.