Earlier this month, the judicial branch threw out its third congressional map of the 2016 cycle when a three-judge federal panel ruled North Carolina's map an unconstitutional gerrymander. The timing of the ruling has the potential to throw North Carolina's House races into chaos, considering more than 1,000 absentee ballots have already been returned ahead of the state's March 15 primary. Now, it's likely new lines will be redrawn and primaries will be pushed back to May or June. Rather unbelievably, the panel stated it "did not find credible" the GOP legislature's claim that the map had been drawn for political, not racial, advantage. In fact, it's rather obvious that Republicans drew the 2012 map with an eye towards a 10-3 advantage in seats, an edge they claimed in the 2014 midterms. Republicans are seeking a stay of the ruling to allow congressional primaries to proceed next month, but Justice Antonin Scalia's death makes it unlikely the Supreme Court will issue one. This week, Republican state legislators unveiled a new remedial proposal that would radically shake up five of the
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