Answering questions on elections and redistricting after NC gerrymandering ruling
Tuesday’s court ruling that North Carolina’s political maps can be used in upcoming elections answered some questions for those who follow state politics, but also raised several more.
Here are a few issues that might be on the minds of voters in the Tar Heel State now, after the ruling brought a big win for Republican politicians.
And if there’s something not addressed here that you think we should add, email reporter Will Doran at wdoran@newsobserver.com.
Q: When are the 2022 elections happening?
A: The general election is in November, like normal. The primary is now May 17, after being pushed back from the usual March date in order to give more time for this court case to wrap up.
Q: Will we have new districts for the election, or use the ones the legislature passed last year?
A: That’s still the biggest unanswered question right now. If Tuesday’s ruling stands — or even if it’s overturned, but too close to the primary — then the elections will happen under the legislature’s maps. But there’s also still a chance that the maps could be found unconstitutional and redrawn before the election.
Q: If the districts stand, how can I figure out which district I live in?
A: Go to the legislature’s redistricting website at ncleg.gov/Redistricting, where there are interactive maps linked for the new U.S. House, N.C. House and N.C. Senate maps. Each one lets people zoom in on the maps, or enter an address to see which district it’s in.
The court ruling
Q: What did the judges say about gerrymandering in the maps?
A: The maps are intentionally gerrymandered to give Republicans an advantage in future elections, a panel of judges found, with districts drawn to diminish the influence of Democratic voters.
Q: But I thought you said Republicans won the case?
They did. The judges went on to say that partisan gerrymandering like that is not unconstitutional, even if it might “subject the state to unwanted attention, ridicule and derision.” So they let the maps stand. Redistricting is an inherently political process controlled by whichever party is in charge of the legislature, the ruling said, so lawmakers can use it to harm their political opponents — as long as they don’t engage in racial gerrymandering, which the judges said was not the case here.
Q: Is that the final ruling?
A: No. This was only the trial court ruling. The left-leaning challengers who sued over the maps have already said they’ll appeal.
Q: How long will the appeals take?
A: The case is expected to quickly end up before the N.C. Supreme Court. How quickly is still unknown, but the primary this spring was delayed specifically because the Supreme Court said it felt a sense of urgency to wrap up this case in time for the 2022 elections. That’s a major change from the past, when gerrymandering lawsuits have dragged on for years. Most of North Carolina’s elections in the last decade, for instance, were held using maps later found to be unconstitutional, since the lawsuits took so long.
Court politics
Q: Both sides talk a lot about the politics of the judges. Why is that important?
A: Judges in North Carolina are elected in partisan races, which is especially relevant in a case like this one — since it has massive political implications for at least the rest of the decade, and potentially longer. The trial court that ruled unanimously in favor of GOP lawmakers Tuesday had a 2-1 Republican majority. Their ruling relied heavily on a 5-4 ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2019, when that court’s conservative majority reached a similar conclusion over the opposition of the more liberal justices. But the N.C. Supreme Court, where this lawsuit will end up, has a 4-3 Democratic majority.
Q: Do any of the N.C. Supreme Court justices have conflicts of interest?
A: Possibly. Both Republicans and Democrats are trying to get some of the other side’s justices to recuse themselves. So far, GOP lawmakers have asked Democratic justices Sam Ervin IV and Anita Earls to recuse themselves, and the challengers have asked Republican justice Phil Berger Jr. to recuse himself. More recusal motions could still happen, too.
Q: Why are they being asked to recuse themselves? Will they?
A: In North Carolina, the decision to recuse is entirely up to each individual judge, with no additional oversight, so they can make whatever decision they want. Republicans say Ervin should recuse because he is up for election in 2022, and that Earls should recuse because one of the liberal groups involved in the lawsuit helped support her 2018 campaign for a seat on the court. The other side says Berger should recuse because his dad is the leader of the N.C. Senate and one of the main defendants in the case.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it at link.chtbl.com/underthedomenc or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published January 12, 2022 at 1:26 PM.
