In a decision that could have far-reaching implications, North Carolina's Supreme Court has overturned its earlier ruling that congressional redistricting was the result of partisan gerrymandering. In a reversal that may enable the state legislature, now controlled by Republicans, to redraw electoral maps for upcoming elections, the court's newly elected GOP majority argued that it had no authority to overturn boundary lines drawn by the state General Assembly. The decision may throw into question whether the US Supreme Court will rule on the contentious issue of partisan redistricting, known as Moore v. Harper. The North Carolina case is part of a larger dispute over how electoral maps are drawn, particularly those that create an unequal advantage for one political party. There are concerns that increasingly, political considerations rather than the law are beginning to dominate such decisions. The Supreme Court could choose to declare the case moot and refuse to issue a ruling.