U.S. attorneys say they have a few questions about N.C. maps

Raleigh News & Observer (Associated Press) ^ | 2/17/2004 | Gary D. Robertsob

[Prospero]

By GARY D. ROBERTSON, Associated Press Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Federal attorneys said Friday they only have a couple of questions about North Carolina's legislative districts, a sign that the plans may be approved in time for a primary now set for July.

The U.S. Department of Justice, writing to a three-judge federal panel in Washington, said the state's latest House and Senate maps don't appear to have been designed to reduce the political power of minority voters.

The attorneys also aren't worried that black residents may be worse off compared to maps approved in 2002, except in two legislative districts, both covering several northeastern counties.

The lawyers asked the state to provide more information about the majority-black districts currently represented by Rep. Howard Hunter and Sen. Robert Holloman, both Hertford County Democrats.

The legislative boundaries must be approved by the U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia to ensure they conform to the Voting Rights Act. The General Assembly voted for them in November.

A trial is set for April 12 for the judges to decide on the maps, but that hearings may be unnecessary if the state can answer sufficiently the questions of federal attorneys.

Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, said late Friday the filing shows the federal government "has no overall objections to our maps." But a Senate Republican who believes the maps are retrogressive had a different take.

"It sounds like ... they are not convinced the maps complies with the Voting Rights Act," said Sen. Phil Berger, R-Rockingham. "If they were convinced, they would clear them."

With the Legislature's consent, the State Board of Elections agreed this month to delay the primary from May 4 to July 20 because the maps weren't approved by federal officials before Feb. 2, the scheduled start of candidate filing. Filing is now set for April 26, but could be delayed further if the courts don't have a decision by then.

The House and Senate maps approved in November were the third set approved by the Legislature in as many years. The state courts struck two other sets, saying they violated the North Carolina constitution, and a trial judge drew boundaries for use only in the 2002 elections.

The third set, approved in November by the General Assembly, would be used through the 2010 elections, beginning with this year's primaries.

After the federal courts, the legislative maps again will be subject to scrutiny by the state courts.

A panel of three state judges is set to decide whether the maps conform to previous rulings by the state Supreme Court. The justices will hear arguments March 18 on whether the Legislature had the authority to move the case out of Johnston County. Republicans argue that Johnston County Judge Knox Jenkins should retain jurisdiction over the state maps.

[Prospero]

NOW...For the real story...

PRIMARY ELECTION DELAY: TALKING POINTS:

The delay in the primary is not the fault of Republicans.

The Democrats intentionally delayed the primary when they waited until very late last year to ram through new General Assembly district maps.

Republicans have already won in Court, obtaining two clear decisions from the Supreme Court that are supposed to put an end to partisan gerrymandering by enforcing North Carolina’s Constitution. North Carolina’s voters are deliberately being made to wait for enforcement.

Democrats were ordered by the Supreme Court to draw new maps last summer, with plenty of time for a required review by the U.S. Justice Department and the state courts.

Instead, Democrats waited until Thanksgiving, and rammed through new maps without Public comment.

Democrats also added unnecessary further delay by adding unconstitutional language to their maps stripping the presiding court of redistricting cases.

Republicans have been denied their day in court. The Democrats have put off the required review of the new court-ordered maps until a decision is made about whether they can strip the presiding court of its jurisdiction. (The Supreme Court has expedited oral argument on that question, scheduled now for March 18.)

Democrats also added unnecessary language to their maps that ordered the State Board of Elections to delay the primary if the federal government had not approved the maps, as required by the Voting Rights Act. The Democrats then asked for a federal trial for this approval, rather than by a simple submission of the maps to the U.S. Justice Department, ensuring even further delay.

Previous maps approved by the Justice Department were later ruled unconstitutional under state law. In fact, every map since 1992, except for the Interim Senate Plan for the 2002 elections, was ruled unconstitutional under state law, regardless of their approval by the federal government.

Republicans have real questions about whether the latest N.C. House and Senate maps are legal, complying with strict standards already set by the Supreme Court. Despite deliberate delays orchestrated by Democrats, eventually they will have their day in court – as ordered by the Supreme Court a year ago.

None of this would have happened if Democrats in the General Assembly had followed all the instructions of the Court, and passed legal maps. They had plenty of time, and intentionally delayed all elections in an attempt to “run out the clock” and to give their incumbents an advantage as they face the very real possibility of a Republican Landslide.