Burr: If I'd told judges, they would have fought redistricting
Asked why he didn't loop judges and prosecutors into the process early on, instead of surprising them with already drawn maps, Rep. Justin Burr, R-Stanly, said it's because they would have fought the process.
Posted — UpdatedDemocrats pushed back hard against Burr's proposal during session, saying he was attempting to rig the judiciary by drawing lines that would help elect Republican judges. The legislature, controlled by a GOP majority, recently voted to make judicial elections partisan affairs.
Burr said he's trying to correct a long-standing imbalance that favors Democrats via maps drawn piecemeal over the years. He said the result is a hodge-podge of unbalanced lines, including a situation in Mecklenburg County that allows half the county's population to elect five of its seven judges. The other half elects just two, he said.
"This is about making good policy," Burr said.
Asked why he didn't loop judges and prosecutors into his process early on, instead of surprising them with already drawn maps, Burr said it's because they would have fought him. With a map in hand, the debate is about tweaking the map, not about blocking change outright, he said.
"I've seen this play before," said Burr, who has pushed, sometimes successfully, for smaller judicial redraws in the past. "It's no longer, 'How do we kill this?'"
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