CBC Editorial: Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022; Editorial #8736
The following is the opinion of Capitol Broadcasting Company

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Everything North Carolina politicians – Republicans and Democrats – are saying about what’s really at stake in the battle over the state’s gerrymandered election districts is wrong.

Almost everything news correspondents have been saying about the impact of gerrymandering on North Carolina has missed the point. It is NOT about the outcome of a competition or vanquishing the opposing squad.

It IS about voters – regardless of their partisan affiliation. That is what the state Supreme Court order got right and what Chief Justice Paul Newby got wrong in his dissent.

The truth is politicians want North Carolinians to believe this is just a squabble amongst themselves – part of the campaign game. Do Republicans get to impose an advantage over Democrats? Do Democrats get their “fair” share of representation in the U.S. House of Representatives or the state General Assembly? Impact on voters isn’t worth the bother – just superficial collateral damage.

That is what Republican legislative power players like state Senate leader. Phil Berger, House Speaker Tim Moore and their gerrymandering lieutenants Sen. Ralph Hise of Mitchell County, Sen. Paul Newton of Cabarrus County, Sen. Warren Daniel of Burke County and Rep. Destin Hall of Caldwell County say and want citizens to think. They are wrong.

The main issue, what happens to the integrity and power of the voter, gets lost in the blur of partisan bickering.

While the political party struggle is VERY important, it is NOT even close to the most significant matter concerning the General Assembly’s hyper-gerrymandering.

Of utmost importance is how gerrymandering silences some voters while giving a megaphone to others. The reality is that the will of voters -- particularly in the state’s most populous counties as well as those in rural areas with significant minority populations – is manipulated and made irrelevant.

That is what the state Supreme Court got right and on the mark. Right, not because the decision gives any political party an advantage, but because it recognizes that it is about giving ALL VOTERS the power they must have to make a democracy work and brings ALL voices into our legislative branches of government.

The opinion, written by Justice Robin Hudson could not have been more plain on THE issue.

“The General Assembly must not diminish or dilute any individual's vote,” she wrote for the majority opinion.

There it is. What it is all about. Eleven words. Plain. Simple.  True.

“The fundamental right to vote includes the right to enjoy ‘substantially equal voting power and substantially equal legislative representation.’”

This wasn’t a victory for Democrats or Republicans. The winners were the voters – whether Republican, Democrat or unaffiliated.

Their voices will not be silenced.