Coalition Challenges Redistricting After Justice Department Declines

Five statewide organizations — the League of Women Voters of NC, the NAACP, Democracy NC, Coalition for Social Justice, and the A. Philip Randolph Institute — have joined with individual plaintiffs throughout the state in bringing suit against the redistricting maps passed by the legislature earlier this year. The legislature is controlled by Republicans for the first time in 140 years, and has redistricted the state’s legislative and federal Congressional districts accordingly.

According to Democrats, the new majority has gerrymandered numerous
districts in ways that will minimize the African American vote by
placing black voters into very few districts; in Buncombe County alone,
three-quarters of all blacks are now in a single state legislative
district (the 14th), leaving the minority community with no voice in the
other two districts (15 and 16) that represent the county.

The
Justice Department pre-cleared the redistricting based on its
requirements under the Voting Rights Act, which requires certain
states—mostly in the South—and districts to “pre-clear” any changes in
voting districts that impact the opportunity of minority citizens to
vote in a way that reflects their actual numbers. Districting changes
that diminish the impact of their votes can be challenged. In North
Carolina, only certain cities and counties are under the preclearance
requirement; western NC and Asheville have not generally been covered.

However,
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which covers such changes, sets up a
very narrow legal standard under federal law, according to experts.
North Carolina’s state constitution sets additional requirements,
including keeping counties together (disallowing unnecessarily split
counties and districts that unnecessarily cross county lines).

The
most noticeable change in the current redistricting is the removal of
Asheville from the rest of Buncombe County and WNC to place it in the
10th District represented by fourth-term Republican Patrick McHenry of
Cherryville, unknown to most voters in WNC. He is among the 20 most
conservative members of Congress, while Asheville is among the most
liberal cities in the southeast U.S.

In a message to members of
the League of Women Voters, state president Jo Nichols wrote, “Voting
Rights Act Section 5 is a very narrow legal standard, and there are
other, more comprehensive legal standards that cover Equal Protection
rights for all voters in NC. VRA Section 5 also only covers specific
counties, and our lawsuit includes districts that are in non-Section 5
counties.” She stated that the new district lines do not comply with the
state Constitution and “are unfair to all voters in NC.”

The
coalition filed its complaint Friday, November 4, in Raleigh, with
League alerts sent out thereafter to keep voters informed on the
progress and status of the suit. Additional lawsuits have also been
filed, representing voters from all areas of the state.