On February 15, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued a lengthy opinion in Harper v Hall, 2022-NCSC-17, explaining why it had ruled on February 4 that the new U.S. House and legislative district boundaries constitute an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. The majority opinion is 138 pages; the dissent is 74 pages. The vote, like the vote on February 4, is four-three. Here is the opinion. The majority is very eloquent about the harm done by partisan gerrymandering, and sets forth a prominent role for the State Constitutional provision that elections shall be “free and equal.”
The opinion may be useful in the near future when any independent candidate challenges the ballot access laws for independents. Those laws are very harsh. No independent candidate for either house of Congress has ever appeared on a government-printed ballot in North Carolina.
1/2 or less votes x 1/2 gerrymander areas = AUTOMATIC 1/4 or less Control = oligarchy — with monarch gang bosses.
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PR
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_Rights_1689
esp – free election stuff – how vague ???
As a native of eastern North Carolina, the state of North Carolina historically did not give a damn about gerrymandering as long as it benefitted the party of power that ran all functions of government – i.e. the Democratic Party which ran the state effectively unchallenged for a century. Eastern North Carolina was disintegrated in the ’90s and ’00s into this ugly congressional gerrymander designed to ensure the election of a Democrat from the eastern part of the state which turned out to be Eva Clayton. I condemn any motion of the North Carolina Democratic Party or North Carolina Supreme Court to point out why gerrymandering is bad/awful until previous gerrymanders are acknowledged and condemned.
Magic words, like “free and equal” are not sufficient to restrict gerrymandering. What is needed is specific language in the state constitution about the parameters for redistricting, such as 1) counties and municipalities ought not be divided into districts, 2) a minimum district size is required, and that 3) multi-member districts will be used where necessary to observe rules 1 and 2.
They’ll never do that Walter. They want the power to draw districts as they wish them to look while preventing the other group from having the power to draw districts as they wish them to look. “They” here applies to every state-level Democratic and Republican party in the country.
@rj:
You might be right, but, it’s for certain that nothing will change if no one ever offers any remedy at all.
@WZ,
Those are the limitations in the current NC Constitution. They have been ruled unconstitutional.
1/2 or less votes x 1/2 gerrymander areas = AUTOMATIC 1/4 or less Control = oligarchy — with monarch gang bosses.
Much worse extremist primary math
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subversion of 4-4 RFG and 14-1 EPC —
too many super-MORON hack lawyers and worse judges.
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PR