Joseph Ax

(Reuters) – North Carolina’s highest court will be hearing arguments Wednesday about whether North Carolina’s newly drawn congressional maps favor Republicans.

This case is one of many lawsuits being filed across the country against congressional lines that were drawn in a once-a decade cycle. The outcome of the litigation could impact the fight for control over Congress during November’s midterm elections.

This is a listing of some of our most memorable lawsuits.

ALABAMA

A federal panel of judges rejected the Republican-backed map of Congress in the state last week. It was found to likely have violated the Voting rights Act, as it denied Blacks the right to vote for their preferred representatives.

Six districts were deemed to be solidly Republican, while only one of the six districts was majority Black. This despite the fact that more than one quarter of the state’s residents are Black. A court ordered that lawmakers create a new map, which includes the second district where a Black candidate is most likely to win. Alabama appealed this decision.

GEORGIA

Numerous federal lawsuits have been filed to challenge Georgia’s unconstitutional racial-gerrymander. Black voters and civil rights groups argue that the Republican-controlled legislature deliberately drew the lines to dilute the voting power of people of color.

According to analysts, the map puts Republicans in 9 of the 14 states’ districts. That is slightly less than their 8-to-6 edge.

MARYLAND

A number of Republican voters and a Republican state legislature who are running for Congress have requested that a state court invalidate the congressional map, claiming it is an illegal gerrymander.

After Democrats overrode Republican Governor Larry Hogan’s veto, the map became law. It consolidates Democratic control of seven districts in the state and makes the one Republican seat more attractive.

NORTH CAROLINA

In a pair of cases brought by Democratic voters, civil rights organizations and challenging Republican-approved congressional maps as unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders and racial manipulations, the state Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Wednesday. In January, a panel of judges agreed that the map had been drawn deliberately to favor Republicans. However, they concluded it was too far beyond their power to nullify it.

This map would most likely give 10 to 11 out of 14 North Carolina districts to Republicans.

OHIO

The new map was declared illegal by the Republican State Supreme Court in January. It ordered the legislature back to the drawing boards. The court split its decision and found that the redistricting plan violated constitutional provisions which prohibit legislators creating maps favoring a party.

According to electoral analysts to displace Democratic voters, the invalidated map could have awarded Republicans 12 and possibly 13 of 15 state congressional seats.

TEXAS

Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the Republican-backed congressional map, one of which was brought by the U.S. Justice Department. This suit was filed in December to sue Texas for violating constitutional rights of Latinos. In part, the new lines aim to support vulnerable Republican incumbents. They link urban neighborhoods that tend to vote Democratic with rural areas farther from major cities.

Biden’s administration and plaintiffs have claimed that the map reduces the power to vote of minorities residents, even though the maps have contributed significantly to the state’s population growth during the last decade. It is unlikely that the litigation can be resolved by time to impact this year’s election. Texas has its first in-the-nation primary elections scheduled for March 1.