The N.C. General Assembly should pass House Bill 606, which was introduced last week. If passed, the bill would establish a nonpartisan process to control redistricting beginning after the 2020 census.
The bill is a bipartisan effort to ditch the heavily criticized current system whereby the party in power after the census gets to draw the new district maps.
The maps drawn by the Republican-dominated General Assembly in 2011 have faced a litany of lawsuits and complaints. Opponents claim the maps represent a clear-cut case of gerrymandering with the intent to keep the Republicans in power for the next decade.
Of course they are. The Republicans have the ability to draw the maps in their favor, and not using that power would be politically foolish. It is safe to say the Democrats would do the exact same if they were in power, and they’ve been accused of it in the past.
The current system places the interests of parties over the interests of voters. That is exactly why this bill should be passed and the system changed.
No matter what party is in control, the opposition will claim discrimination. A nonpartisan system would give proper representation through fairly created districts.
Passing this bill will show residents that North Carolina’s elected officials are capable of compromise in the best interest of the state.
Legitimate defenses of the current system are few and far between, primarily relying on the idea of keeping to the tradition that the party in power draws the maps.
That’s a pretty weak defense when the state could easily avoid the perennial accusations of gerrymandering.
