Throughout the country yesterday, North Carolina made headlines as the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the issue of partisan gerrymandering is a political question beyond the scope of federal courts to decide.

In North Carolina, lawsuits allege that Republicans in the General Assembly had drawn Congressional districts in a way that favored Republican candidates. In Maryland, the same was said of Democrats.

While the Supreme Court has previously ruled that racial gerrymanders are not permissible under the Constitution, this most recent ruling implies that partisan gerrymandering is a state issue.

“Numerous states are actively addressing the issue through state constitutional amendments and legislation placing power to draw electoral districts in the hands of independent commissions, mandating particular districting criteria for mapmakers, or prohibiting drawing district lines for partisan advantage,” the majority opinion reads.

For the past decade, North Carolina’s legislative districts, from Congress down to the state level, have been a point of contention and partisan bickering. The result has been a seemingly endless stream of lawsuits, litigation and political posturing. In North Carolina and beyond, there is no question that Democrats and Republicans alike have used gerrymandering as a tool to maintain their own power.

Our state is due for a change in how it handles redistricting. The process should be taken out of the hands of politicians, the very people who can most easily manipulate these maps to benefit themselves or their political allies. The methods listed in that majority opinion are certainly worth a closer look from lawmakers.

Next year, North Carolina, along with the rest of the country, will have its population counted in the U.S. Census. That population data, not partisan politics, should be what drives the state’s legislative maps.

While Republicans have had the upper hand in the General Assembly throughout the 2010s, the Democrats could well make gains in the 2020 that leave them in charge of mapmaking. It’s time for both parties to do what’s best for voters and call a truce when it comes to redistricting.