The fight for fair maps in North Carolina will not be won easily.
The state’s newly redrawn legislative maps are acceptable, but the congressional map is still unconstitutional, a three-judge panel of two Republicans and one Democrat ruled Wednesday. A group of outside experts appointed by the court drew a new congressional map, which will be in place for the 2022 election only.
The ruling was met with recriminations and appeals from all sides, but the North Carolina Supreme Court shot those down late Wednesday night and ruled that the maps will stand. Candidates have already been scrambling to decide if and in which redrawn district they’ll run.
It’s chaos, and one party is to blame.
Republicans in the General Assembly have had ample opportunities to draw maps. Each time, they’ve refused to do so fairly. The result has been a flurry of maps and lawsuits, which have confounded voters and eroded public confidence in an increasingly politicized judicial system that’s become a battleground for democracy.
Adding to the chaos is the fact that the interim congressional map will only be in place for one election cycle. That means that in 2023, North Carolina will have to go through the redistricting process all over again. And if Republicans maintain control of the legislature, they could choose to pass another partisan gerrymander — one that is far less likely to be struck down if they also win a majority on the state Supreme Court in November.
For now, the new congressional map is more favorable for Democrats than any of the prior iterations, and Republicans aren’t happy about it. House Speaker Tim Moore said the House would appeal the ruling, calling it “nothing short of egregious.”
“The trial court’s decision to impose a map drawn by anyone other than the legislature is simply unconstitutional and an affront to every North Carolina voter whose representation would be determined by unelected, partisan activists,” Moore said in a statement announcing the appeal.
Moore’s statement affirmed that Republicans believe lawmakers should be the only ones allowed to draw maps, even if they don’t pass constitutional muster. It’s a circular argument: Lawmakers say they have the right to the spoils of redistricting since they were elected to do so. But redistricting is what got them elected in the first place.
Redistricting, done poorly, is also why the 2022 primary elections have already been delayed by two months. Voters should have been heading to the polls in less than two weeks. Now they’ll have to wait until May. Of course, justice delayed is still better than justice denied altogether. In the past, elections have occurred based on maps later found to be unconstitutional because lawsuits were not resolved quickly enough. This time, the courts didn’t let Republicans stall their way into another set of bad maps, no matter how long it took to get it right.
That doesn’t mean the maps are perfect, however. The redrawn state Senate map, which the judges upheld, is an improvement from the original but still disproportionately favors Republicans. Unlike the state House map, the Senate map passed without bipartisan cooperation or support. “Today’s decision allows a blatantly unfair and unconstitutional State Senate map that may have been the worst of the bunch,” said Gov. Roy Cooper in a statement Wednesday. “That is bad for North Carolina because it strips voters of their voice in our democracy. Our elections should not go forward until we have fair, constitutional maps.”
The 2022 election will go forward, however, and Republicans cries of “judicial activism” will surely join the chorus of complaints. But North Carolinians should remember that such blame is misplaced. Over the past decade, maps drawn by Republican lawmakers have been rejected by both Democratic and Republican judges from nearly all levels of the judiciary. It’s been a waste of time and a waste of money, and none of it would have been necessary had lawmakers simply chosen fairness over self-preservation and political gain.
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