Forget Redistricting Rules, We Need New Referees | Eastern North Carolina Now

Publisher's note: This post, by AUTHORNAME, was originally published in Civitas's online edition.

    North Carolina has been embroiled in a decades-long redistricting saga since the late twentieth century. After each new map is drawn, a slew of litigation ensues that takes up significant time and resources. Many have proposed changes to the rules for redistricting to prevent partisan gerrymandering, but in a recent research brief, JLF's Mike Schietzelt asks whether or not new rules will make a lasting impact. Schietzelt writes:

  • [When] new maps are invariably challenged with a surge of litigation in state and federal courts... challengers typically claiming that the map-drawers have improperly considered race or partisan advantage.
  • And with each round of litigation, courts craft new (and often opaque) standards. Or they attempt to make sense of previously crafted (and often opaque) standards. Or they punt on the issue altogether. Rarely do courts resolve even the most basic legal issues in a lasting way. After decades of litigation, the redistricting waters are muddier than ever and getting worse. So symposium panelists, and many others, have reasonably concluded that we need clearer rules.
  • But that conclusion has a fundamental flaw: crystal-clear rules mean nothing when they are read inconsistently. The rules themselves aren't the problem. The courts are.

    Schietzelt illustrates the court's flip-flopping using partisan gerrymandering as an example:

  • [In 2015,] the Supreme Court of North Carolina [concluded] in Dickson v. Rucho, 367 N.C. 542, (2014)[,] "The Supreme Court of the United States has recognized that compliance with federal law, incumbency protection, and partisan advantage are all legitimate governmental interests." And when the case came back before the Supreme Court of North Carolina a year later, the Court said exactly the same thing...
  • But in 2019, the three-judge panel in Common Cause v. Lewis threw that settled rule out the window.
  • The Common Cause panel found, for the first time in history, that "extreme" partisan gerrymandering violated the state constitution. The key provision in that case, according to the panel, was the "Free Elections clause" in Article I, Section 10, which reads, "All elections shall be free."
  • ...This is a truly remarkable reversal. In 2015, partisan advantage was a "legitimate governmental interest" in drawing maps. In 2019, without any changes to the underlying law, the practice became illegal.

    This inconsistency in adhering to precedent is troublesome to Schietzelt. He writes:

  • The courts' willingness to completely reverse course on this issue is troubling. With all due respect to proponents of redistricting reform, new rules will not rein in a judiciary that frequently moves the target and occasionally reverses course. New rules will only provide new battlegrounds for endless litigation.
  • And more litigation is the absolute last thing we need.

    Read the full brief HERE. Keep up with North Carolina's redistricting saga HERE.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




No Surprise Bills at Greenville Surgery Center John Locke Foundation Guest Editorial, Editorials, Op-Ed & Politics A Deeper Look at the Meaning of K-12 Education With Director of Academics of Thales Academy, Tim Hall


HbAD0

Latest Op-Ed & Politics

President Joe Biden took direct aim at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during a recent interview, referring to him simply as “the guy who likes to spend a lot of time on yachts.”
The best way the county and city can help hold down inflation is to resist all tax increases
Pope Francis lambasted leftist gender ideology during an address this week, warning that it presented an extreme danger to mankind.
amnesty would just encourage more illegal aliens to storm our borders
The Christmas candy was barely off the shelves when the Valentine’s candy appeared. Red and pink hearts with caramel and nut-filled chocolate goodness caught our eye. We are reminded of how we love love. Young love, especially.
far left sugar daddy has also funded anti-Israel groups and politicians in US
Be careful what you wish for, you may get it
America needs to wake up and get its priorities right

HbAD1

Former President Donald Trump suggested this week that if he becomes president again, he might allow Prince Harry to be deported.
It's a New Year, which means it's time to make resolutions — even for prominent evangelical leaders. The Babylon Bee asked the following well-known figures in the faith what they hope to accomplish in 2024:
Vice President Kamala Harris will visit a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic, reportedly the first time a president or vice president has visited an abortion facility.
An eight-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway near Asheville has been temporarily closed due to a string of “human and bear interactions,” the National Parks Service announced.
University of Wisconsin tried to punish conservatives for the fact that liberals regularly commit crimes to silence opposition
most voters think EU officials not doing a good job on illegal immigration
Come from behind by GOP candidate is a blueprint to 2024
Biden spending and energy policies to blame

HbAD2

 
Back to Top