If you think Election Day is Nov. 6, you might want to reconsider. Depending on where you live and what office you’re talking about, Election Day could be in July or May. Who knows: By the time you read this, it may already have occurred.
Many North Carolinians will not have an opportunity to choose among legislative and even congressional hopefuls, because in many contests, the candidate from one party will run unopposed. In most other circumstances, races for Congress and the General Assembly will be settled long before November because the district lines have ensured that the incumbent party’s nominee will face no serious challenge.
This sorry situation begs for solutions, and at least one should give voters more say in who represents them: redistricting reform.
At press time, the North Carolina FreeEnterprise Foundation noted that the 9th U.S. Congressional District had no Democratic candidate on the ballot. In February 2014, Republicans knew that Rep. Robert Pittenger would hold that seat until 2017.
Moreover, no Democrat had filed to run in 56 state House seats and 19 state Senate contests. On the flip side, Republicans were absent from the filing lists in 30 House seats and 13 Senate races. In several instances, only the incumbent filed for re-election, meaning voters in those districts will have no say over who represents them for another two years.
Establishing — by statute or constitutional amendment — a set of rules controlling the composition of legislative and congressional districts should make more elections competitive. Districts that represent equal numbers of voters, respect city limits and county lines, are compact geographically, and do not favor incumbent officials or previous election results will encourage representation that reflects constituent interests rather than the entrenchment of power through incumbency.
With the proper rules in place, it doesn’t matter very much who draws the lines, an independent commission or legislative staff.
The current system allows the party holding the majority of legislative seats during the session when the once-a-decade census is released to expand its power far beyond its support from voters. In 2012, Republicans and Democrats roughly split the vote for General Assembly and congressional races, and yet the GOP won nine of 13 congressional districts and nearly two-thirds of legislative races.
While the quality of candidates and their campaigns matter, there’s no question the districts drawn in 2011 gave Republicans an outsized partisan advantage. (This behavior isn’t new. Democrats used similar leverage to their benefit for the districts drawn after the 2000 census.)
For years, the John Locke Foundation has joined elected officials and interest groups across the ideological spectrum to call for nonpartisan redistricting reform. House Speaker Pro Tem Paul “Skip” Stam, R-Wake, has been on board with this campaign when Republicans were in the minority, and, to his credit, his enthusiasm has not waned now that the GOP has firm control. Let’s hope he, and his allies for reform, can get this done.