Raleigh News & Observer Logo

Groups appeal dismissal of lawsuit against new Wake County school board lines | Raleigh News & Observer

×
  • E-edition
    • Customer Service
    • Support
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Sponsorships
    • Stay connected
    • Mobile & Apps
    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • Social Media Directory
    • N&O Store
    • Buy Photos
    • Databases
    • Archives
    • Newsletters

    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Health
    • Local
    • North Carolina
    • Nation/World
    • Science
    • Thumbs Up
    • Traffic
    • Weather
    • Weird News
    • All News
    • Counties
    • Durham County
    • Johnston County
    • Orange County
    • Wake County
    • All Sports
    • Baseball
    • Canes
    • College
    • Columns & Blogs
    • High Schools
    • NASCAR & Auto Racing
    • NBA
    • NFL
    • NHL
    • Olympics
    • Outdoors
    • Panthers
    • Soccer
    • Schools
    • Duke
    • East Carolina
    • NC State
    • North Carolina
    • All Politics
    • The North Carolina Influencer Series
    • State Politics
    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • PolitiFact
    • PolitiFact NC
    • Rob Christensen
    • Under the Dome
    • All Business
    • Blogs
    • Columnists
    • Health Care
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate
    • Shop Talk
    • Stocks Center
    • Technology
    • All Living
    • Video Now
    • Best-Kept Secrets
    • Blogs
    • Celebrations
    • Comics
    • Family
    • Fashion
    • Fitness
    • Food
    • Games and Puzzles
    • Home and Garden
    • Horoscopes
    • Mouthful
    • Past Times
    • Pets
    • Religion
    • Travel
    • Video Now
    • Arts News
    • ArtsNow
    • Books
    • Contests
    • Dining
    • Entertainment
    • Games
    • Movies
    • Music
    • Nightlife
    • Television
    • On the Beat
    • Happiness is a Warm TV
    • All Opinion
    • Columnists
    • Dwane Powell
    • Editorials
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Letters
    • Opinion Shop Blog
    • Other Views
    • Submit a Letter
  • Obituaries

    • Advertise with us
    • Place Ad
    • Apartments
    • Cars
    • Homes
    • Jobs
    • Legals
    • Obits/In Memoriams
    • Weddings
    • Today's Daily Deal
    • Special Sections
    • Today's Circulars
    • Rewards
    • Photo Store
  • Classifieds
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Cars
  • Homes
  • Legals

Wake Ed

WakeEd

Groups appeal dismissal of lawsuit against new Wake County school board lines

By T. Keung Hui - khui@newsobserver.com

    ORDER REPRINT →

April 07, 2014 02:44 PM

UPDATED TO FIX BROKEN LINKS.

Groups attempting to overturn the new Wake County school board election maps are appealing the decision of a federal judge to throw out their lawsuit.

The Southern Coalition for Social Justice announced today that it’s appealing the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle on the grounds that the lines drawn up last year by the Republican-led General Assembly “has the effect of unconstitutionally devaluing the vote of urban Raleigh residents in electing members to the Wake County School Board.” The appellants are supporters of the school board’s Democratic majority who have argued the new lines disfavor progressive candidates.

At issue is how the new lines would result in a 9.8 percent population variance between two newly created super-regional districts, one representing the suburbs and the other the older parts of Raleigh. Voters would pick board members from one of the regional districts and the district where they live.

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

Boyle didn’t find the imbalance in his ruling to be significant, but the appellants disagree.

The Fourth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals is generally considered to be more conservative than the other circuits.

Here’s the press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WAKE COUNTY, NC – Today the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, on behalf of thirteen Wake County citizens and two community organizations, appealed the decision of Judge Terrence W. Boyle dismissing their challenge to the North Carolina General Assembly’s unjustified redistricting of Wake County Board of Education districts. The new law has the effect of unconstitutionally devaluing the vote of urban Raleigh residents in electing members to the Wake County School Board.

The named appellants are Wake County voters who allege the North Carolina General Assembly violated the one-person, one-vote requirements of the United States and North Carolina Constitutions. Specifically, the diverse group contends that the legislature over-populated their newly drawn Wake County School Board districts, thus weakening their vote in contrast to voters in adjacent Wake County districts.

“The vote of an urban Raleigh resident should be just as powerful as the vote of a rural Wake County resident,” said former Wake County School Board member Beverley Clark. “Districts that are so uneven mean that some voters’ ballots carry more weight than others. We brought this appeal to ensure that the Constitutional standard of one-person, one-vote is respected in Wake County.”

A voter’s influence is measured by the relative weight of their vote to others voting in the same election. Creating an overpopulated district simultaneously results in one or more under-populated adjacent districts. In this case, urban districts are overpopulated and thus diluted in comparison to adjacent rural districts. Voters in the overpopulated districts are harmed because their vote carries less strength than those in the under-populated districts.

“The federal courts have made clear that favoring rural voters over urban voters, or favoring one political party over another are not legitimate justifications for deviations from the one-person, one-vote principle,” said Anita Earls, Executive Director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice. “This case is not a partisan gerrymandering claim – it is a one-person, one-vote claim that must be taken seriously by all Wake County residents interested in fair elections.”

The case is Wright, et al. v. State of North Carolina et al., US Dist. Court, Eastern District No. 5:13-cv-607. Judge Boyle’s order dismissing the case was issued on March 17, 2014.

View the history of this case.

View this press release online.

  Comments  

Videos

Making an ‘impact’: Enloe High students raising $200,000 for Autism Society of NC

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” author visits Knightdale school

View More Video

Trending Stories

What to Watch on Sunday: An all-star tribute to Elvis Presley’s ’68 Comeback Special

February 17, 2019 07:00 AM

Bladen County operative ‘told us what we were to say’ at hearing, worker testifies

February 18, 2019 06:00 AM

How does UNC plan to defend Duke’s Zion Williamson? Roy Williams and players weigh-in.

February 18, 2019 05:08 PM

Bunch of jerks? Not the Hurricanes having fun

February 17, 2019 09:55 AM

Operative at center of NC election fraud hearing won’t testify

February 18, 2019 02:16 PM

Read Next

He works with at-risk Wake students to keep them out of jail and on a successful track

Local

He works with at-risk Wake students to keep them out of jail and on a successful track

By Christa Gala

    ORDER REPRINT →

November 23, 2018 01:47 PM

Sean Ingram didn’t let his criminal record keep him from succeeding. Now he works with Wake County schools and the Raleigh Police Department to help students stay out of jail and find success.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE WAKE ED

Parade makes homecoming real for new Apex high school

Local

Parade makes homecoming real for new Apex high school

October 17, 2018 04:06 PM
2,000-student charter school won’t open in Cary, where neighbors pushed back

Education

2,000-student charter school won’t open in Cary, where neighbors pushed back

August 14, 2018 11:11 AM
Digital billboard honors 'our valedictorian,' since NC school district won't, dad says

Education

Digital billboard honors 'our valedictorian,' since NC school district won't, dad says

June 05, 2018 11:23 AM
'Teacher Union thugs' are behind education march, NC lawmaker says

Politics & Government

'Teacher Union thugs' are behind education march, NC lawmaker says

May 11, 2018 07:10 PM
South Garner hires Richard Young as first athletic director

High School Sports

South Garner hires Richard Young as first athletic director

February 26, 2018 04:25 PM
The Gamecocks? The Gators? You could decide the mascot for South Garner High.

High School Sports

The Gamecocks? The Gators? You could decide the mascot for South Garner High.

February 06, 2018 06:55 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Raleigh News & Observer App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Triangletoday.com
  • Legal Notices
Advertising
  • Advertise With Us
  • About Our Ads
  • Place a Classified
  • Local Deals
  • N&O Store
  • N&O Photos
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Report News
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use


Back to Story