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2 with authority to set rules governing federal elections free from restrictions imposed under state law.

The Elections Clause provides: “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.” Ibid. The Clause “imposes” on state legislatures the “duty” to prescribe rules governing federal elections. Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Ariz., Inc., 570 U. S. 1, 8 (2013). It also guards “against the possibility that a State would refuse to provide for the election of representatives” by authorizing Congress to prescribe its own rules. Ibid.

The 2020 decennial census showed that North Carolina’s population had increased by nearly one million people, entitling the State to an additional seat in its federal congressional delegation. U. S. Census Bureau, 2020 Census Apportionment Results (2021) (Table A). Following those results, North Carolina’s General Assembly set out to redraw the State’s congressional districts. North Carolina League of Conservation Voters, Inc. v. Representative Destin Hall, 21 CVS 015426 etc. (Super. Ct. Wake Cty., N. C., Dec. 3, 2021), App. to Pet. for Cert. 260a–261a, rev’d and remanded on other grounds, Harper v. Hall, 380 N. C. 317, 868 S. E. 2d 499 (2022) (Harper I). The General Assembly also drafted new maps for the State’s legislative districts, including the State House and the State Senate. Id., at 328–329, 868 S. E. 2d, at 513. In November 2021, the Assembly enacted three new maps, each passed along party lines. Id., at 329, 868 S. E. 2d, at 513; see N. C. Gen. Stat. Ann. §120–1 (2021) (State Senate); §120–2 (State House); §163–201 (U. S. House of Representatives).