Redistricting Panel Not Silver Bullet

RALEIGH — Two years ago, Rep. Russell Capps complained that his newly redrawn, Democrat-leaning district resembled the main course at a holiday dinner — sort of. “If you hold it upside-down,” Capps said at the time, “it looks like a turkey.” Trying to avoid the tussle for power, some NC legislators have proposed a nonpartisan commission to handle redistricting duties. They argue that such panels minimize political considerations such as incumbency, and instead endeavor to follow constitutional guidelines such as compactness and communities of interest. But a review of the practice in other states shows that commissions aren't silver bullets.