Two Black voters are arguing that state lawmakers violated the Voting Rights Act by “cracking” a majority Black Senate district.

While he appeared to have come up short on election night, now that all votes are in, Democratic state Rep. Terence Everitt has bested Republican Ashlee Bryan Adams in state Senate District 18.

Two Black voters will make their case that the Republican-crafted state Senate map illegally splits Black voters in Eastern North Carolina among several electoral districts — diluting their ...