Story highlights Opinion is first time federal court has ruled on partisan gerrymandering

Former Attorney General Eric Holder: Politicians should not pick their voters

(CNN) Federal judges said Tuesday that North Carolina will have to quickly redraw its 13 congressional districts because the map is unconstitutionally partisan.

The three-judge panel rejected the previous map drawn by the Republican-controlled General Assembly, saying it violates the Equal Protection Clause, the First Amendment, and Article I of the Constitution.

The judges gave the state about three weeks to file a new plan with the court so it will be in place before the 2018 midterms

The opinion is the first federal court ruling to strike down a congressional map as representing a partisan gerrymander.

In 2016 two districts in North Carolina were struck down because judges said the map was racially discriminatory.

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