Jerome Brown: GOP ruse struck down

The July 2 news article “Wake voting in flux; maps ruled illegal” was a welcomed read over morning coffee. One profound observation needs to be shared.

State Sen. Chad Barefoot’s comments that the federal courts have “effectively disenfranchised all Wake County voters by canceling the county commission and school board elections” are ludicrous and at best disingenuous.

The timetable beginning in 2011 through 2015 with Democratic voters sending Republicans packing (Wake County school board and the Wake County commissioners races) started this Republican scorched-earth approach. The voters made their choices.

The Republican-led legislature tried to circumvent Wake County and draw the district lines as pay back for the ousters. This is not rocket science. This is politics on steroids to regain power. We knew it as voters, and now the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.

Many thanks to the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals for doing the right thing.

This story was originally published July 5, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Jerome Brown: GOP ruse struck down."