Editorial: N.C. can and must act for fair districts even if high court won't stop gerrymandering

The best that can be said: It is an unfortunate ruling – but still it makes clear that states have the right to laws that make partisan gerrymandering illegal. North Carolina’s Constitution, which demands free elections, does just that.

While saying federal courts had no jurisdiction to deal with political gerrymander, Chief Justice John Roberts condemned actually doing it. “Excessive partisanship in districting leads to results that reasonably seem unjust,” he said. “But the fact that such gerrymandering is ‘incompatible with democratic principles’ does not mean that the solution lies with the federal judiciary. … Provisions in state statues and state constitutions can provide standards and guidance for state courts to apply.”

With action pending in North Carolina courts challenging legislative redistricting, that is where the battle continues.

In her striking dissent, Justice Elena Kagan was blunt in saying her court should have taken the issue on:

“For the first time ever, this Court refuses to remedy a constitutional violation because it thinks the task beyond judicial capabilities. … The partisan gerrymanders in these cases deprived citizens of the most fundamental of their constitutional rights: the rights to participate equally in the political process, to join with others to advance political beliefs, and to choose their political representatives. In so doing, the partisan gerrymanders here debased and dishonored our democracy, turning upside-down the core American idea that all governmental power derives from the people.

“These gerrymanders enabled politicians to entrench themselves in office as against voters’ preferences. They promoted partisanship above respect for the popular will. They encouraged a politics of polarization and dysfunction. If left unchecked, gerrymanders like the ones here may irreparably damage our system of government.”

Legal or illegal, North Carolinians have lived with unfair congressional and legislative districts for much of this decade and it has come at a steep cost. It is time to stop. North Carolina’s courts need to address these lawsuits without delay. The subtext of both the majority and minority opinions make clear that partisan gerrymandering is wrong.

Along with the currently pending litigation, the U.S. high court’s decision offers a uniquely-timed opportunity for the state to develop and adopt – before new census is complete – a non-partisan system to draw election district lines.

The extreme gerrymandering has left millions – particularly those who live in the state’s most populous areas – with muted voices in Congress and the General Assembly. Legal or illegal, it is simply unfair when one party receives nearly 50 percent of the votes in legislative elections yet wins just 23 percent of the seats.

No matter the political affiliation or ideological point of view, that should be of deep concern to ALL those who value democracy and truly representative government.

Rather than perpetuate a regime that encourages endless litigation, it’s time to embrace a non-partisan system for drawing legislative and congressional district election districts.

Amid the arguments of the last decade, a strong bipartisan coalition has been built and come up with realistic solutions.

A group of diverse political interests, working with Duke University, brought together a bipartisan panel of retired state judges who produced a congressional map to illustrate how independent redistricting, without consideration of voting history or partisan affiliation, can work in the state. The result was more competitive districts where all voters would have an opportunity to make their choices at the ballot box count.

The clear message from the U.S. Supreme Court to North Carolina is that the choice is in our hands. The time is now to adopt a program for non-partisan development of legislative and congressional election districts.

Every North Carolinian deserves full representation in Washington and Raleigh.