A State Divided

Legislative News by Nelda Holder –

My friend had gotten her sample ballot and could not find the name of her US Congresswoman on the list—someone she liked and had planned to vote for again. (This was, to give credit where it’s due, NC’s Sixth District Congresswoman Kathy Manning (D), in her second term of representing the Triad.)

I explained that the behind-closed-doors redistricting of the state last fall had completely changed the Triad district and Manning would no longer be on her ballot. Indeed, Manning decided she would not be on anyone’s ballot, given the odds that were so carefully stacked against her in that legislative redistricting room. So as of next January, she’ll no longer be serving in Congress.

Let’s review.

October, 2023

The NC Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee took it upon themselves to change balance of the state’s 14 US House seats in such a way as to position the Republican Party to pick up at least three seats. The 7-7 split between Republican- and Democratic-leaning seats would change to a configuration that would lean heavily towards 10 Republican and 3 Democratic districts, with one remaining district that, as an October 23, 2023 AP report observed, “could be considered competitive.”

Kathy Manning’s original district would be subject to significant reconfiguration, resulting in her absence from my friend’s 2024 ballot. This would also be happening to Reps. Jeff Jackson of Charlotte and Wiley Nickel of Cary, both first-term Democratic congressmen.

Any of this sounding familiar? Yes—this is an up-close-and-personal result of the topic in last month’s column, relative to a current lawsuit attempting to throw out this very redistricting plan. But please read on.

March 5, 2024

The first state primary under the newly skewed maps produced an unsurprisingly overwhelming Republican victory for former House Speaker Tim Moore in the newly created District 14 (one of the three “additional” Republican-leaning districts in the redraw). His Democratic opponent in November will be Pam Genant, an Army veteran and registered nurse.

Fourteen (count ’em) Republicans were competing in District 13, with an expected run-off race between the top two vote-getters. (Democrat Frank Pierce was unopposed so did not participate in the primary.)

District 6, in a much-tinkered-with new conformation, was the third expected “flip” from Democrat to Republican. (This was Rep. Manning’s district under the old districts.) The primary drew six Republican candidates. There was no definitive winner, and a runoff between the top two candidates (Addison McDowell and Mark Walker) is on tap for May 14.

Finding a Better Way

It shouldn’t take another lawsuit to try to give the voters of this state fair election maps and get rid of unfair gerrymandering in this state. But right now we stand as a classic example of this distorted, partisan trick. (If you’d like an excellent overview, check out “Anatomy of a North Carolina Gerrymander” from the august Brennan Center for Justice [October 27, 2023].)

However, we are not alone. In a December 2023 article for the Brennan Center by Yurij Rudensky (“Status of Partisan Gerrymandering Litigation in State Courts”), a rundown of the status of partisan gerrymandering lawsuits in Wisconsin, New Mexico, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Florida, and Utah also takes due note of the fact that until the composition of the North Carolina Supreme Court shifted after the 2022 election, gerrymandered maps had been struck down by that court. A new Republican majority “overruled its prior decisions and vacated its remedial order, giving the legislature an opportunity to draw new maps.”

(Note: Maps have been struck down in Alaska, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Ohio. In several other states, maps have been challenged but cases dismissed on procedural/factual grounds.)

This is not a good track record for the political practice of gerrymandering at this point in time. So what might replace this “time-dishonored” practice?

Good ole Ballotpedia gives us the quick answer for congressional redistricting. In 33 states, the legislatures have a dominant role in this important process. In nine states, commissions draw congressional district lines. Two states give legislatures shared authority with commissions. And the other states comprise only one congressional district each. The North Carolina description is stark: “Legislature-dominant,” “Not subject to veto.”

There are some interesting notes to the commission procedures for Congressional redistricting:

New York: A non-politician commission drafts the maps, and the legislature must “reject two separate sets of commission-proposed plans before it can amend the commission’s proposals.” Those amendments cannot modify commission proposals by more than 2.0% of any district’s population.

Virginia: Maps are drafted by a commission divided evenly between politicians and non-politicians. The General Assembly must vote to approve without amendment. Up to two sets of draft maps may be rejected, at which point the state’s supreme court takes over.

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Washington: Maps are drawn by non-politician commissions.

Iowa, Maine, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Utah: Maps are drawn by advisory commission (subject to veto).

The process varies with respect to state legislative redistricting.

The Iowa Model

Way back in 1993, NC Senator Clark Plexico (a Democrat) proposed that this state turn to the “Iowa Model” for redistricting, which had been instituted in that state in 1980. Here’s how the National Conference of State Legislatures describes that model.

Iowa is among the states where the legislature has responsibility, but its method is unique…. Since 1980, Iowa’s districts have been drawn each decade by nonpartisan legislative staff. They follow a strict set of criteria, including a prohibition on the use of political data (emphasis added).

That idea died in the then-Democratic legislature’s Rules and Operations Committee.

Interestingly, there have been a number of attempts since then—at least two dozen—to establish a nonpartisan redistricting process, and they’ve been offered by Democrats and Republicans. (Do the names Phil Berger or Thom Tillis ring any bells?)

Over time, the reform bills have basically sought a constitutional amendment creating a nonpartisan Independent Redistricting Commission or equivalent. These have been consistent criteria:

• Avoiding elongated and irregularly-shaped districts
• Adhering to the one-person, one-vote mandate
• Minimizing the number of split counties, municipalities and other communities of interest

Sounds kind of straightforward and simple, doesn’t it?

Nelda Holder is the author of The Thirteenth Juror – Ferguson: A Personal Look at the Grand Jury Transcripts.