Mike Parker: The time has come to minimize politics in redistricting
The time has come to minimize politics in redistricting.
The Constitution of North Carolina has a long and storied history. John Locke of England, perhaps the single greatest influence on those who wrote the foundational documents of our nation, was the co-author of North Carolina’s 1776 Constitution.
The 1776 Constitution provided for a House of Commons and a Senate. Voters of each county elected one Senator and two House members. Six, later seven, towns elected a representative to the House of Commons. The 1776 Constitution distinctly favored property owners since only property owners could vote for Senators. Members of the House, the Senate, and even the Governor had to meet property requirements.
Dissatisfaction with that system of legislative representation, which gave no weight to population, resulted in the Convention of 1835 and the revamping of the 1776 Constitution. The amendments of 1835 fixed membership in the House at 120 and membership in the Senate at 50. The House formula gave each county one seat in the House, a total of 65, with the remaining 55 seats distributed according to a formula that took population into account.
In 1835, the eastern part of North Carolina had 38 counties while the western – and more populous part of the state – had only 27 counties. In the end, the East controlled the Senate and the West controlled the House. Until 1868, NC Senate districts were drawn to reflect the amount of taxes paid to the state.
Fast forward roughly 150 years. The infighting over Senate and House districts is alive and well. The biggest problem has been, and still is, the partisan nature of redistricting plans. When Democrats held control of the legislature, the chief driver of how districts were drawn stemmed from the desire to protect incumbents in the House and Senate. A side issue for Democrats was drawing districts to minimize Republican chances to unseat Democratic lawmakers.
When the power shifted a few years ago and Republicans ended up with veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate, Republicans drew districts to ensure the continuation of their political clout. From the time the General Assembly adopted legislative and congressional district maps after the 2010 census, the legislature has found itself under constant legal attack by Democrats who understood these maps made winning seats in the legislature and in Congress much more difficult for them.
Drawing districts is serious business. I still chafe from the memories of maps approved in 1992 based on the 1990 census. On Nov. 6, 2000, as we were completing the 2000 census and bracing for another round of redistricting, I wrote:
“Every even year election is a knife stab to my political soul because I am confronted again with blatant unfairness. The redistricting plan of 1992 fragmented Lenoir County in such a way that denies us any real chance of having a resident of our county serve in the North Carolina House or Senate.
“In case you have never examined the figures, allow me to lay them before you. According to the 1990 census, North Carolina had a little more than 6.6 million people. Our state House has 120 seats. If you do the math, you will discover that each seat in the House represents 55,238 people on average. Lenoir County’s population in 1990 was 57,274. However, instead of doing the sensible thing and giving Lenoir County at least one state House seat, the General Assembly used our county as filler to make up House and Senate districts that allow folks from other counties to ‘represent’ us.
“Of the three people who ‘represent’ us in the state House, two live in Wayne County and one lives in Craven. Of the three people who ‘represent’ us in the N.C. Senate, one lives in Wayne County, one lives in New Hanover County, and one lives in Pitt County.”
I am glad a move is afoot that attempts to minimize partisanship in the redistricting process. Of the six proposals currently being considered, I prefer Senate Bill 673. This bill proposes to amend the N.C. Constitution to create the N.C. Citizens Redistricting Commission. The commission would be comprised of five Republicans, five Democrats, and five people not affiliated with either political party. If the legislature needs a person from that later class, I would be glad to serve.
All of the reform bills require districts to be compact, contiguous and meet all requirements of state and federal law to protect the voting strength of racial minority groups. These bills also forbid using political factors, such as voter registration, previous election results, or addresses of incumbents – except where needed to comply with state and federal law – to draw voting districts.
Until that constitutional change takes place, we can only hope the Joint Select Committee on Congressional Redistricting working now can produce maps in time to be reviewed and approved before the Dec. 2 date to begin filing for 2020 primaries gets here.
Mike Parker is a columnist for Neuse News. You can reach him at mparker16@gmail.com.
