RALEIGH — Leaders of the North Carolina General Assembly opened up the legislative re-redistricting process Thursday with a public hearing. Some 25 speakers urged lawmakers to act judiciously, to stay within the confines of the state constitution, to avoid protracted litigation, to consider the public interest over incumbency protection, and to transform the process itself to eliminate insider and partisan bias.

And, naturally, legislative leaders were taking careful notes with which to guide their upcoming, statesman-like performance in next week’s special re-redistricting session.

That is, if there is a session. Raleigh is awash with rumors, predictions, warnings, and confusion about this process. Some incumbents are nervous about early versions of House and Senate maps that eliminate their safe seats and force them to run against each other. Most members aren’t really sure what’s going to happen, or even if a reportedly wide chasm between House Speaker Jim Black and Co-Speaker Richard Morgan will be bridged in time to present a unified, consensus map for quick passage.

I have no more knowledge about the final outcome than any other outsider looking in, but from what fragments of evidence do exist, I suspect that we are in for another lengthy legal fight. The reality is that given the State Supreme Court’s decision last year, which generated a coherent and specific list of criteria for evaluating district maps, the degree of discretion allowed to political cartographers is relatively small. Some of the more grandiose suggestions I’ve heard about — dividing counties into multiple districts, again, or dramatically refashioning the “clusters” of counties — would seem likely to run up against what is now settled state constitutional law.

Will we go round and round again in the state courts next year? There are many political figures with a strong interest in the answer to that question. For example, there is an exceedingly crowded and competitive Republican primary underway in the 5th Congressional District, where incumbent Richard Burr is stepping down to run for U.S. Senate. Similarly, if Rep. Cass Ballenger does the expected and retires from his 10th District seat, you can bet there will be another crowded, competitive primary in that safe Republican territory. In both cases, protracted litigation on state legislative districts that causes the May primaries to be moved into the summer or fall would have pronounced effects. Well-financed candidates will be able simply to outlast their peers.

Along the same lines, I’m told that former House Speaker Dan Blue may not make up his mind about whether to challenge Erskine Bowles for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate until the date of the 2004 primary is clearly set. I’m sure he’s in no mood to go through what he, Bowles, and Elaine Marshall did in 2002, when redistricting litigation lengthened the campaign by months and left Blue and Marshall, with many fewer resources to tap, at a decided disadvantage.

Here’s a thought, lawmakers: follow the rules. Don’t play games and don’t invite lawsuits. Let the voters decide who will represent them in the General Assembly, not the other way around.

Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation and publisher of Carolina Journal.