“Throw the bums out!”

That’s the popular rallying cry when North Carolinians learn about the ethical lapses and scandals that plague state government.

Through our votes, we decide who controls North Carolina’s purse strings, who draws the state’s election maps, and who adds pages to our state’s bloated law books.

So we should look forward to November — when we’ll have a chance to send those “bums” a message. All 170 seats in the General Assembly are up for grabs. If we don’t like the way things work in Raleigh, we can make a change.

Or can we?

We’ll surely see some lawmakers booted from office. The next General Assembly will welcome some new faces. But that doesn’t mean the power structure will change on Jones Street.

Take a look at the state’s election maps, and you’ll see that many legislative races are already settled.

Let’s start with the Senate. Democrats outnumber Republicans, 29-21. Democratic predominance is nothing new. Democrats have enjoyed an uninterrupted run as the dominant Senate party since Reconstruction.

With a Democrat holding the lieutenant governor’s gavel as Senate president, Republicans need to take five seats away from the Democrats this fall to win Senate control. That would be a tough task — even if all 50 seats were really in play.

Take a closer look at the numbers, and you’ll see that the hurdle is even higher than you might think. Thanks to election district lines drawn by Democrats, few Senate races will generate real competition.

Twenty-one districts have no contest in the general election. That’s 42 percent of the total seats. Many other districts will feature only nominal competition — as gerrymandered districts give Democrats or Republicans overwhelming advantages in November.

The situation is not much better in the House, where Democrats hold a 63-57 edge. About 50 House districts have no contested election in November. Just a handful of the other 70 districts will have competitive races.

In almost every case, the incumbent has a huge election advantage — whether he or she is a Democrat or a Republican. Not only does an incumbent enjoy name recognition. If legislative leaders like the incumbent, they’ve drawn an election district that favors his or her re-election. So how can we throw the bums out?

We could adopt an idea that’s already used in 15 other states: term limits. From Maine to California, voters have decided that good government requires a frequent changing of the guard. Among Southern states, Florida and Louisiana have set limits. The terms range from six to 12 years.

The length of the limit matters less than the concept: No lawmaker should stick around long enough to collect too much power. We’ve seen the danger of consolidated power in both the House and the Senate.

If the old saying is true that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely, then the solution involves limiting power. It’s time for state lawmakers to consider term limits — before even more of them become “bums” who need to be thrown out.

Thanks to political shenanigans, polls show voters are in a surly mood this year. If legislators fail to recognize that, then perhaps it’s time for constituents to apply some powerful persuasion on Jones Street that party time is over.
Term limits would be a great way to start.

Mitch Kokai is associate editor of Carolina Journal.