Daniel W. Squires Jr.: Competitive districts

When reading the Sept. 1 news article “N.C. court reconsiders 2011 redistricting,” something struck me as not quite democratic.

Beyond the fact of packing minorities into districts to dilute any influence statewide was the admission by the Republicans that the district lines were drawn for “political protections and incumbency protections.” This is a party that has 30 percent of the registered voters in this state, which means 70 percent are Democrats and unaffiliated, and they are drawing lines to ensure they remain in power!

I don’t know how any reasonable jurist or voter can deem this constitutional. The main factor in redistricting should be fairness to all the voters in the state and not having the legislature determine who remains in power.

The goal for redistricting should be to make every district as competitive as possible as we see too many legislators running unopposed due to how districts are drawn. This would make them more responsive to the needs of their constituents.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Daniel W. Squires Jr.: Competitive districts."