Plaintiffs In NC Redistricting Case Make Forceful Argument State’s Remedial Plan is Unconstitutional Partisan Gerrymander

While much of the brief is about how the NC legislature’s new plan is no cure for the earlier redistricting plan found to be a racial gerrymander, perhaps what is most interesting is the discussion of how open and blatant the NC legislators were about drawing line to partisan advantage.

From the brief:

Lest there be any doubt as to whether this is a partisan gerrymander, one need only ask Lewis: “I acknowledge freely that this would be a political gerrymander.” Hamilton Decl., Ex. 3 (Tr. 46:5-11); see also id. (Tr. 51:12-52:1) (“[W]e want to make clear that we . . . are going to use political data in drawing this map. It is to gain partisan advantage on the map. I want that criteria to be clearly stated and understood.. . . . I’m making clear that our intent is to use — is to use the political data we have to our partisan advantage.”)….

The General Assembly’s purported criteria only confirm Lewis’s stated intent to maximize partisan advantage. In a criterion titled simply “Partisan Advantage,” the General Assembly provides:

       The partisan makeup of the congressional delegation under the enacted plan is 10 Republicans and 3 Democrats. The Committee shall make reasonable efforts to construct districts in the . . . Plan to maintain the current partisan makeup of North Carolina’s congressional delegation.

This, in a state that is split roughly evenly between Democrats and Republicans.

Should be interesting.

 

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