A federal judge this week upheld the North Carolina Senate map, siding with Republicans who had been accused of intentionally diluting the voting power of Black Democrats in the northeastern part of the state. “This case does not involve the General Assembly engaging in race-based districting or the odious practice of sorting voters based on race,” Dever wrote. Separately, Berger’s openness to redrawing North Carolina’s congressional map got national attention in the last week. State lawmakers could return to vote on a new U.S. House map as early as October 20, though there’s minimal upside to another round of redistricting for Republicans. Bryan Anderson is a freelance reporter who most recently covered elections, voting access, and state government for WRAL-TV.