Why are N.C. Republicans afraid of the voters
Published January 19, 2018
Editorial by Wilmington Star-News, January 18, 2018.
This issue isn’t settled. The U.S. Supreme Court still has to be heard from. Still, the ruling last week by a three-judge federal appeals panel voiding North Carolina’s congressional districts marks a victory for democracy and the power of the individual voter.
Previous court rulings had voided two of the U.S. House districts, finding that they discriminated against African-American voters. For the first time, however, a court found that gerrymandering, in and of itself, is not just unfair but unconstitutional. The 4th Circuit judges’ reasoning is sound and deserves to be considered.
The U.S. Supreme Court already has heard a similar case from Wisconsin, where Democrats challenged a legislative map drawn by the state’s Republican leaders. A decision is forthcoming. The court also has agreed to hear a case from Maryland, in which Republicans say the dominant Democrats drew an unconstitutional congressional district.
Back in 2010, Tar Heel Republicans gained control of both houses of the legislature for the first time in decades. They quickly pounced to redraw the state’s congressional and state districts to ensure that victory would be perpetual.
To do that, they used tools that the Framers of our nation could never have anticipated. Using computer algorithms and tabulated voting data, specialists can anticipate voting patterns down to the city block level. Then, they can creatively draw districts to ensure maximum support for a candidate.
The results of their handiwork are clear to see. By any standard, North Carolina is a closely divided “purple” state. We generally go Republican in presidential races, but Barack Obama won North Carolina in 2008, and Democrats frequently win statewide races for governor or U.S. Senate.
Our U.S. House delegation, however, is split 10-3 in the GOP’s favor, in large part by crowding as many Democrats into as few districts as possible. It’s similar for the General Assembly, where Republicans still enjoy veto-proof margins.
Many incumbent legislators faced no opposition at all in 2016, Most congressional races are mere formalities at this point.
North Carolina, moreover, has become notorious for its ridiculous district boundaries. Until 2017 -- when the Supreme Court struck it down -- the 12th U.S. House district snaked narrowly along a single highway from Charlotte practically to the Virginia line, picking up pockets of African-American voters as it went, isolating them into one district.
The situation has driven the state Republican Party into more and more extreme positions, as the GOP primary chooses the winner. Candidates no longer have to appeal to the middle of political spectrum, where most voters reside.
The judges found that the congressional gerrymandering, at least, violates the equal-protection clause of the U.S. Constitution by egregiously favoring one political party over any others.
As the panel’s ruling put it, this violated “the core principle of republican government ... that the voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around.”
Now the legislators have only until Jan. 29 to come up with new maps that are constitutional. It’s hard to have much pity for them. Lots of bipartisan groups have shown how fair, constitutional districts can be drawn. Now, just shut up and do it already.
