Editorial: Too many legislative campaigns remain with too little competition

There is one week remaining until the 2018 filing period for candidates for North Carolina public office, particularly the General Assembly, closes.

Unless there’s a dramatic rush by candidates on boards of elections around the state, the complexion of the next legislature won’t be much different than the one we’ve got now.

There are plenty of reasons why there’s a reluctance among many to run and serve in the legislature. It is a huge sacrifice – of both time and money. The salary is minute. Even adding money paid for living expenses and travel, still amounts to a major sacrifice. That’s probably one of the reasons for the increase in older and retired members of the legislature.

But the main culprit, by far, is the illegal racial and partisan gerrymandering that – even with the token changes recently imposed by the courts for the current elections – renders far too many legislative races uncompetitive and even token opposition irrelevant.

The result of having legislators pick their voters – instead of the voters picking their representatives – is meaningless elections and unaccountable public officials.

House Speaker Tim Moore and state Senate leader Phil Berger have, at this point, no Democratic opponents. Neither had Democratic opposition two years ago. Similarly, the Democratic leaders in the legislature, Rep. Darren Jackson and Sen. Dan Blue, were elected two years ago without facing Republican opponents. Jackson doesn’t have an opponent yet and no Republican has filed to run in Blue’s district.

Even considering the determined efforts to make our elections irrelevant, the most effective way to hold our elected officials to account is still through vigorous contested campaigns and strong voter turnout on Election Day.

Candidates must clearly explain their views, compare them with the positions of their opponents and in the process require explanation and debate.

Filing for public office closes Feb. 28. There is still time for Republicans and Democrats to recruit quality candidates to run. There’s still time for individuals to offer themselves before the voters.

In the end, though, the real power is in the hands of citizens. A vote is the most powerful weapon in a democracy. Regardless of who is seeking public office, no qualified citizen should be defenseless on Election Day.

Don’t be a bystander. Don’t let others speak for you.

While the deadline for candidates is just days away, there’s still time to register to vote. Don’t delay. Do it today.