Appeals court blocked a coup in Wake County
The ruling against election maps imposed on Wake County shows how reckless the Republican-led legislature has become. Only the federal courts and the U.S. Constitution can stop the Republican legislators’ efforts to enhance their power and punish their opponents regardless of what is fair or legal.
The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday declared unconstitutional the maps the legislature drew in 2013 and 2015 for the Wake County Board of Commissioners and school board. The ruling came on the last filing day for candidates seeking a seat on the Wake school board. That added another layer of confusion to the disarray Republican lawmakers have caused in the voting process this year as their gerrymandering and vote-suppression tactics have faced court challenges.
Fortunately, by a 2-1 vote, the three-judge panel of the appeals court moved quickly to stop the legislature’s usurpation of local voting rights. “We see no reason why the November 2016 elections should proceed under the unconstitutional plans we strike down today,” the judges wrote.
At press time late Friday, Republican lawmakers were scrambling to pass new maps. That rushed, closed process could produce maps and voting changes that would lead to further legal challenges and turn Wake County voting from confusing to chaotic.
Lower court erred
The appeals court’s intervention was just in time but hardly guaranteed. In February, U.S. Chief District Court Judge James C. Dever III ruled that left-leaning groups who opposed the redistricting had failed to show the new lines violated constitutional requirements. Dever dismissed the lawsuit, writing, “The court finds that the General Assembly did not engage in invidious discrimination, act arbitrarily, or act in bad faith in enabling the 2013 Wake County School Board Plan or the 2015 Wake County Commissioners Plan.”
Dever’s wrongheaded reading of an egregious case of abusing the voting process now looks as faulty as the acts at issue. The Fourth Circuit set that straight, with the majority opinion stating: “The challenged redistricting here subverts political fairness and proportional representation and sublimates partisan gamesmanship.”
Sen. Barefoot’s role
The ruling is also a much-deserved rebuke to state Sen. Chad Barefoot, the Wake County Republican who co-sponsored the redistricting legislation that would upend local governing boards supported by Wake voters. Barefoot’s move on behalf of Wake Republicans was a case of a party trying to undo its defeat in elections through the power of the Republican-controlled legislature.
The legislature’s plan not only redrew district lines, but changed school board elections from odd to even years and changed the number of commissioners by adding two super districts. It also eliminated staggered terms, took away countywide voting for commissioners and required all seven district commissioners to run in presidential years when the electorate is more favorable to Republicans.
The Fourth Circuit ruling has pushed back the subversion of Wake County’s elections, but damage remains. There’s now confusion about who is running where and when. It will get worked out. Democracy will be restored. But it’s an outrage that it was disrupted by lawmakers who think the law is whatever they want it to be.
This story was originally published July 2, 2016 at 5:46 PM with the headline "Appeals court blocked a coup in Wake County."