A redistricting Psalm of Lament

by Tom Campbell, Executive Producer and Moderator, NC SPIN, December 1, 2016.

Four weeks following the November 8^th election and just five weeks before elected officials are due to be sworn into office we still don’t know the final outcomes of two statewide and several legislative races. Compounding this confusion, a federal court ruled this week that North Carolina must redraw districts and hold new legislative elections next year. Like the Old Testament Psalmist we raise a song of lament: When, oh when, will our leaders put an end to constant redistricting court battles and establish an independent redistricting commission?

In August, a three-judge federal district court panel ruled that lawmakers unconstitutionally used racial gerrymandering to surgically stack and pack minorities in 28 legislative districts, effectively diluting their voting power. The court ordered new legislative districts be drawn but since November’s elections were so near North Carolina should proceed using the currently drawn districts. This week the court expanded their decision by saying that not only would new districts need to be drawn by March 15^th, but also new legislative elections were to be held next fall. Redrawing 28 districts will impact just about every House and Senate district, essentially limiting lawmakers to a one-year term.

Republican legislative leaders have already signaled they plan to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, but that court is unlikely to change the district court verdict. The Supreme Court is hopelessly snarled with a four-four split among Democrats and Republicans, and a tie vote on this appeal only upholds the federal court ruling. Even if the court isn’t evenly split Justices have consistently ruled against gerrymandering that results in the dilution of voting power among minorities.

Our legislators have a string of court defeats to show for their gerrymandering. In addition to the legislative districts verdict, another federal district court ruled the state’s 13 U.S. House districts were unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear appeals of that decision next week. Additionally, efforts to redraw the districts for Wake County school board and Board of Commissioners were overturned on grounds that they violated constitutional guarantees of equal representation, packing too many voters in one district and not enough in another. Then last year a federal judge blocked attempts to redraw new voting districts for the Greensboro City Council.

Expect the 2017 legislature to redraw legislative districts to comply with the court and for the state to go through another round of primary elections in the summer and general elections in the fall of 2017. Hopefully the new maps will be fairer and more representative.

One would also hope our legislative leaders would show some statesmanship and acknowledge what they have previously advocated, namely the need for an impartial and independent redistricting commission. Not only could it potentially avoid future legal fights but would also save the state money, funds better used for schools, infrastructure and other public purposes. Properly structured, this commission would ensure fairer elections that are more representative.

There may not be enough time to establish an independent redistricting commission to meet the March 15^th deadline, but it is the right thing to do and now is the right time to do it. Before voting next fall we should ask every legislative candidate to sign a pledge to support redistricting reform.