Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JANUARY 17-23, 2018 UCW 5 Gerrymandering: A real cliffhanger by MARGARET DICKSON OPINION MARGARET DICKSON, Columnist. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. READER ALERT! is column deals with gerrymandering, a topic that has been described as everything you hated about high school civics. Admittedly, it is not as titillating as reading about porn stars and Donald Trump. Gerrymandering refers to the drawing of elective districts for offices from Congress down to county and municipal posi- tions to benefit individual candidates, political parties or both. It has been with us since the earliest days of our nation and has been prac- ticed by both Democrats and Republicans and the parties that preceded them. Feeling sleepy? I understand, but make no mistake. Gerry- mandering affects all of us, rendering some of our votes meaningless and leading to the elec- tion of legislators and members of Congress of one party when members of the opposite party cast more votes. It cheapens the sacred "one person, one vote" premise Americans hold dear. Redistricting, which has meant gerrymandering in recent cycles, occurs after every U.S. census to distribute changing populations relatively equally for the coming decade. Lawsuits almost always follow. The latest round of lawsuits began in 2011 and is still going strong. In the interest of full disclosure, I am the lead plaintiff in one of the several suits, which has been to the U.S. Supreme Court twice and to the North Carolina Supreme Court not once, not twice but three times – so far! The latest court rul- ing on gerrymandering in our state came last week from a three-judge federal panel and is by all accounts – and to use the vernacular – a really big deal not only for North Carolina but for our nation. Since 2011, rulings in the phalanx of redistrict- ing lawsuits in both state and federal courts have addressed gerrymandering based on race, and both state and federal courts have uniformly and repeat- edly said racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional. Ruling last week, the federal judges said gerryman- dering of congressional districts based on partisan politics is also unconstitutional. "No, no," said the judges. e party in charge of redistricting – in North Carolina's case last time around, the Republicans – may not gerrymander for gross partisan advantage. Rep. David Lewis of Harnett County had justified the partisan gerrymandering to House colleagues by saying, "I propose we draw the maps to give a parti- san advantage to 10 Republicans and three Demo- crats because I do not believe it is possible to draw maps with 11 Republicans and two Democrats." e judges did not buy that position, however, marking the first time partisan gerrymandering has been struck down in North Carolina. In fact, while racial gerrymandering has long been deemed unconstitutional – though legislators still try it from time to time – courts have rarely dealt with partisan gerrymandering. at legal void has left room for the practice and allowed legislators like Rep. Lewis to feel comfortable announcing such plans out loud and in public. As Bob Dylan famously sang, "e times they are a' changing." e U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a partisan redistricting case from Wisconsin last fall and has agreed to take up another case from Maryland. Legal observers speculate that last week's North Carolina ruling will also make its way to Washington. In other words, the high- est court in the land is signaling that partisan gerrymandering is an issue of national signifi- cance. Advances in computer software now al- low slicing and dicing of voting districts in ways not imaginable even a decade ago, much less in pre-computer days. ese advances make gerrymandering, including partisan gerryman- dering, a mere click away, and the high court is clearly concerned. You and I can do little to combat gerryman- dering of any sort except vote for candidates for the North Carolina General Assembly who support a bipartisan redistricting system. North Carolina, like most states, tasks the legislature with Congressional and legislative redistricting, a practice that allows those who benefit from the system to control the system. ink the fox guarding the henhouse. North Carolina has held three election cycles – 2012, 2014 and 2016 – with Congressional and legislative districts that have been found unconstitutional, but legal appeals continue even as the next U.S. census and subsequent redistricting loom. is makes no sense to vot- ers, repelling us instead of attracting us to our voting places. Gerrymandering in all its forms damages our democracy, and the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts are turning their attention to its highly partisan incarnation. Stay tuned. one year special $ 15 for UP & CoMING WEEKLY rEadErs oNLY you save 89% off Tv GuIDe MaGaZINe Get A GreAt DeAL from tV GuiDe mAGAzine start Your subscription online, By Mail or Call online: tvguidemagazine.com/newsoffer mail: complete order form below call: 1-800-365-1940 WHeN CaLLING use PRoMo: K6fNsWPZZ Every issue delivers inside scoop on your favorite shows Breaking news keeps you in the know Highlights help guide you to what's worth watching Your favorite stars take you behind the scenes 28 Pages of easy-to-use primetime listings GrEaT rEasoNs To sTarT YoUr sUBsCrIPTIoN Gerrymandering has been with us since the earliest days of our na- tion and has been practiced by both Democrats and Republicans and the parties that preceded them. is map shows how lines for North Carolina's congressional districts were redrawn in the years 1992, 1997 and 2001. e map was created based on data published by North Carolina Digital Collections.