Opinion Roundup: Divisions on voting maps warped by politics, absentee ballot security, GOP health bill and more

Wednesday, March 27, 2019 -- A round up of opinion, commentary and analysis on: Supreme Court justices grapple with partisan gerrymandering case, absentee ballot security, federal court strikes down NC's ban on abortions after 20 weeks, lawmakers push back on proposed changes to State Health Plan and more.

TYLER DUKES & CULLEN BROWDER: Supreme Court justices grapple with NC partisan gerrymandering case (WRAL-TV reports) -- NC's congressional map took center stage at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in a partisan gerrymandering case that could have broad implications for state legislators who draw district lines across the country.

ADAM LIPTAK: Justices Display Divisions in New Cases on Voting Maps Warped by Politics (New York Times reports) -- Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, who may hold the decisive vote, expressed uneasiness about gerrymandering but also wondered if Supreme Court intervention was necessary.

MICHAEL WINES: What Is Gerrymandering? What if the Supreme Court Bans It? (New York Times reports) -- The Supreme Court is hearing arguments about a fancifully named political practice that majority parties have long used to lock in their dominance. Here is what it is all about.

ROBERT BARNES: Brett Kavanaugh the new player as Supreme Court returns to partisan gerrymandering (Washington Post reports) -- A familiar pattern emerged at the Supreme Court Tuesday as it again took up the subject of extreme partisan gerrymandering: Liberal justices saw it as a threat to democracy that requires action while conservatives wondered how courts could ever decide when a political process becomes too political. The outcome could hinge on the justice who has not been a part of the previous considerations: Brett M. Kavanaugh. As is his custom in his rookie term, he asked questions and made comments that cheered (and worried) both sides. At the end of more than two hours of arguments, it seemed Kavanaugh could become the fifth vote to finally say courts have no role in policing partisan gerrymandering, or he could be part of a narrow decision to rein in the most egregious offenders.

BRENT KENDALL & JESS BRAVIN: Conservative Justices Hesitant About Judicial Remedy for Partisan Gerrymandering (Wall Street Journal reports) -- The Supreme Court again appeared hesitant to embrace a judicial remedy for partisan gerrymandering, with no justice in the conservative majority expressing enthusiasm for myriad formulas to address an age-old practice of American politics.

MARK SHERMAN: High court questions courts' role in partisan redistricting (AP reports) -- The Supreme Court's conservative majority sounded wary of allowing federal judges to determine when electoral maps are too partisan, despite strong evidence that the political parties drew districts to guarantee congressional election outcomes. The decisions in two cases the justices heard from Maryland and North Carolina, could help shape the makeup of Congress and state legislatures for the next decade in the new districts that will be created following the 2020 census.

BRIAN MURPHY: Supreme Court appears split in NC gerrymander case (Charlotte Observer reports) -- NC’s current congressional districts were drawn to benefit Republicans and elect them to 10 of the state’s 13 U.S. House seats, facts that no one disputes. Now the U.S. Supreme Court is tasked with determining whether partisan gerrymandering is constitutional.

STEVE NEAL: We can fix gerrymandering. It’s a matter of choosing the right words (Washington Post column) -- On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the partisan gerrymandering case Rucho v. Common Cause. After the 2010 Census, the Republican-controlled state legislature in North Carolina redrew the state’s congressional districts in such a way that, in last year’s elections, 10 of the 13 representatives chosen were Republicans, even though voters in the state cast only 47 percent of their votes for the GOP. There have been several examples of this type of gerrymandering in earlier years in North Carolina, as well as in other states. All these elections have one thing in common: state legislators from both political parties draw district lines so that it is almost impossible for any but favored candidates to win. Yes, it’s unconstitutional, and it’s entirely intentional.

PAUL WALDMAN: Will the Supreme Court unleash a frenzy of GOP partisan gerrymandering? (Washington Post column) -- There is a difficult practical question: Even if almost anyone would look at North Carolina and Maryland and agree that their district maps are ridiculous, how can you determine where the line is between a permissible gerrymander and an impermissible one?

EMERY DALESIO: Investigators followed money in tainted NC election (AP reports) -- The ballot-rigging investigation that voided a congressional election and forced one of the country's few do-over races simply followed the money, top North Carolina elections officials said. Investigators were following tips that a political operative in rural Bladen County was illegally collecting ballots and didn't target Republican Mark Harris' campaign in the 9th Congressional District, state elections director Kim Westbrook Strach said during a discussion at Davidson College, about 20 miles north of Charlotte.

JIM MORRILL: Could NC election officials have stopped 9th District election scandal? They say no. (Charlotte Observer reports) -- North Carolina state elections officials Tuesday defended their investigation of the 9th District election fraud, even though Republicans questioned why they didn’t do more to stop it. They spoke at Davidson College.

Absentee ballot security needs to be a priority (Fayetteville Observer) -- We’ve got candidates campaigning. We’ve got issues. We’ve got voters and an election schedule. The do-over race for the 9th Congressional District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives has all the necessary pieces in place. All but one thing: We don’t have reforms that will increase the security of the absentee ballot process — the reason why we’re in this encore political performance.

FRANK BRUNI: The Patriot’s Guide to Election Fraud (New York Times column) -- Dan McCready was a starry-eyed novice. Then his House race in NC was stolen.

TRAVIS FAIN: Bills to cut K-12 testing, challenge curriculum materials advance in House (WRAL-TV reports) -- Series of education bills coming to House floor, including bipartisan testing changes, GOP effort on textbooks.

LAURA LESLIE: Students join push to get guns away from people who could pose threat (WRAL-TV reports) -- Student advocates joined state lawmakers to call for N.C. to join the growing number of states that have adopted laws to get guns away from people who pose a threat to themselves or others.

THOMAS GOLDSMITH: NC gun safety advocates renew call for Extreme Risk Order of Protection (N.C. Health News reports) -- NC Democrats are giving gun-safety laws another push with their proposal to adopt an extreme risk order of protection, or red-flag law. They weren’t able to pass it last year.

LAURA LESLIE: Senate leaders pit support for disabled against Medicaid expansion (WRAL-TV reports) -- State Senate leaders are proposing an expansion of a Medicaid waiver program for intellectually and developmentally disabled adults as an alternative to wider Medicaid expansion backed by Democrats and some House Republicans.

THOMAS GOLDSMITH: GOP senators’ plan would fund services for people with disabilities, end CON requirement (N.C. Health News reports) -- Proposals from GOP Sens. Joyce Krawiec and Dan Bishop include expanding services to 2,000 people with intellectual disabilities while also repealing the state’s certificate of need requirement.

Senate GOP health bill seeks access without broad expansion (AP reports) -- Senate Republicans are floating legislation they say would offer medical access to more people in North Carolina without expanding Medicaid to able-bodied adults through the federal health care law.

MATTHEW BURNS: Lawmakers push back on proposed changes to State Health Plan (WRAL-TV reports) -- A House committee voted overwhelmingly to halt proposed changes to the State Health Plan until the end of next year so that a thorough study of the plan's operations and potential cost-saving measures can be conducted.

ROSE HOBAN: Lawmakers derail State Treasurer’s plan to change State Health Plan reimbursement (N.C. Health News reports) -- An overwhelming vote stopped Dale Folwell from pegging payment for state employees' insurance coverage to Medicare, instead creates a study committee with tight deadline, mandate.

GARY ROBERTSON: House panel OKs halting treasurer health care pricing change (AP reports) -- Some legislators agreed to derail pending pricing changes for the state employee health insurance plan that hospital leaders argue won't solve the problems that State Treasurer Dale Folwell seeks to address.

WILL DORAN: This plan could save money for state workers and taxpayers, but it has few defenders in NC House (Durham-Herald Sun reports) -- More than 700,000 North Carolinians are insured through the State Health Plan, and the plan’s board of directors recently approved a major change to the system regarding how hospitals would be reimbursed when those people seek medical care.

Education support is essential (Winston-Salem Journal) -- With the state legislature in session, one topic being approached from several directions deserves all the support that can be mustered: Education.

REIS THEBAULT & EMILY WAX-THIBODEAUX: N.C.’s 20-week abortion ban is unconstitutional, a federal judge rules (Washington Post reports) -- A decades-old North Carolina law that banned women from having abortions after their 20th week of pregnancy is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled. The 1973 law made some allowances for medical concerns, but a 2015 amendment that narrowed those exemptions prompted abortion rights groups to file a lawsuit in 2016. U.S. District Judge William Osteen sided with the advocacy groups this week, writing that courts across the country have struck down “week- or event-specific abortion bans” and North Carolina’s is no different.

MATTHEW BURNS: Federal court strikes down NC's ban on abortions after 20 weeks (WRAL-TV reports) -- A federal judge has struck down N.C.'s long-standing ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, ruling Monday that such an arbitrary timeline could deprive a woman of her constitutional right to end a pregnancy before her fetus could viably live on its own outside the womb.

EMERY DALESIO: State's 20-week abortion ban ruled unconstitutional (AP reports) -- A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a N.C. law banning women from having abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy except in an urgent medical emergency.

MOSTLY FALSE: Fact-checking Mark Walker's video on HR 1’s campaign-finance provisions (PolitiFact reports) -- Mark Walker’s ad said, "HR 1 is going to take your hard-earned tax dollars and millions more and send them to (a candidate’s) campaign so (he) can put ads on TV." The video glosses over some key details about HR 1 to leave a misleading impression. First, the bill’s public-financing options would not be available to all candidates, generally speaking. To be eligible, candidates would have to satisfy certain threshold requirements and refuse to accept individual contributions of more than $1,000. Second, as the bill is currently structured, the program would get money from a 2.75 percent fee on people and corporations that commit malfeasance — not from a broad pool of tax dollars. The ad contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression. So we rate it Mostly False.

World War II City -- 4 words, but an indelible mark on Wilmington (Wilmington Star-News) -- A “World War II city” label would help the Port City’s tourist industry. More important, though, it would help us remember and honor the sacrifice of the Greatest Generation.

CHRISTINA MYERS: South Carolina House approves incentives for sports teams (AP reports) -- South Carolina House lawmakers gave key approval Tuesday to legislation that offers millions in job tax credits and other incentives to professional sports teams, strengthening their pitch to get the practice fields and team headquarters of the Carolina Panthers.

ELY PORTILLO: In Charlotte speech, Comey bashes Trump, hopes for ‘transparency’ on Mueller report (Charlotte Observer reports) -- Former FBI Director James Comey said Tuesday that he hopes the American public gets “transparency” on special council Robert Mueller’s report on President Donald Trump’s campaign and the 2016 election, and what led to the decision not to pursue obstruction of justice charges.

NANCY MCLAUGHLIN: Supporters urge Tillis to stop deportation of Greensboro man, jailed since 2017 (Greensboro News & Record reports) -- Someone nearby hoisted a sign with “It’s in your hands Mr. Tillis” written on it and 17-year-old Kadi Maiga took a deep breath to avoid dissolving in tears. Maiga and her sister, 14-year-old Zeyna, were among family and supporters gathered Tuesday outside the local office of U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis to present a petition asking Tillis to stop the deportation of their father, Ali Marounfa. He has spent the last two years in a Georgia detention center awaiting deportation to his native Niger, where they fear he will be executed upon his return for speaking out on social media against what he says is a corrupt government administration.

At last, the caliphate falls (Fayetteville Observer) -- It ended in Baghouz, a little speck of a border village in the bland, almost featureless expanse of Syrian desert. A weeks-long siege ended in victory for U.S.-backed military forces. Islamic State was defeated. And the last trace of the terror group’s “caliphate” dissolved into the desert dust.

MICHAEL GRAFF: Brunswick booming despite repeated hurricane devastation (Carolina Public press reports) -- Four days after Hurricane Florence made official landfall just north of here, Brunswick County Board of Commissioners Chairman Frank Williams set out to update his constituents in the state’s fastest-growing county.

ANDREW KREIGBAUM: A Struggling College Shops for New Accreditation (inside Higher Ed reports) -- Bennett College, to keep its accreditation and access to federal aid, follows a playbook used by other small religious colleges.

Former NCSU booster pleads guilty to paying bribes to college athletes (WRAL-TV reports) -- A former N.C. State University football player serving a prison sentence for his role in a Medicaid fraud scheme pleaded guilty last week to a single charge that links his inflated income from that scheme to money laundered through his sports agency and paid to college athletes, according to court documents released on Tuesday.

BRUCE HENDERSON: CMS superintendent seeks 15% hike in county funding. Teachers, staff would get raises (Charlotte Observer reports) -- Superintendent Clayton Wilcox on Tuesday proposed a 15 percent hike in county funding for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools for the next school year, with nearly half of the extra $70 million going to teacher and staff pay raises.

ALEX GRANADOS: What things look like on the ground at NC’s first school in the ISD (EdNC reports) -- This isn’t Rosa Thompson’s first year teaching at Southside-Ashpole Elementary in Robeson County. But it’s her first time teaching there since she retired in 2006.

Life without Obamacare? Some reminders of what it was like (Charlotte Observer) -- The Trump administration, which has long struggled between a desire to get rid of the Affordable Care Act and the political realities of doing so, decided to go for it Monday night.

COLIN CAMPBELL: Wind energy ban (The Insider reports) -- After a statewide moratorium on wind energy projects expired on Dec. 31, Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow, plans to file a bill today that would ban new wind projects in more than a dozen Eastern North Carolina counties. Brown was behind the original moratorium,

CATHERINE KOZAK: Risks from our rising seas -- ‘We use the tools that we have’ (Outer Banks Sentinel reports) -- Scientists from Climate Central, a nonprofit research organization based in Princeton, NJ, say studies have found that even minor rises in sea levels can significantly increase the risk of flooding by adding to tides and storm surge. Sea level rise is also adding to the already high groundwater levels on the Outer Banks, which can mean slower drainage of stormwater and negative impacts on such infrastructure as pipes and septic systems. But considering that the Outer Banks sits between the nation’s second largest estuarine system and the Atlantic Ocean’s most powerful currents, life here has always been ruled by the whims of weather and water. And in a community where the politically polarizing term “climate change” rarely enters the public policy discussion, the expensive and evolving task of mitigating higher seas largely occurs in an atmosphere of uncertainty and hopeful faith in the Outer Banks’ adaptability.

JESSICA PATRICK: 2 earthquakes felt across NC (WRAL reports) -- Two earthquakes were recorded in the last 12 hours in NC, according to the United States Geological Survey Earthquake website.

TOMMY STEVENS: Don’t blame hog farms; it’s a human-waste problem (Wilmington Star-News column) -- Floodwaters can certainly bring about foul smells, but Wilmington residents should understand that the floodwaters and aftermath include untreated human waste, septic waste, industrial waste, runoff waste, mold, chemicals and other matter. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has accurately warned the public that human wastes pose the greatest concern.

ANTIONETTE KERR: Federal Proposal Could Impact NC's Clean Water (Public News Service reports) -- NC groups are pushing back against a federal proposal they say would sink the Clean Water Act - and cost taxpayers more. Environmental groups are making it a priority across the state to inform people about a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that would strip federal protections from almost 50,000 miles of smaller streams and rivers in NC.

TRISTA TALTON: Lockwood Folly Off Limits For Shellfishing (Coastal Review Online reports) -- With the latest Division of Marine Fisheries proclamation, nearly all shellfish waters in Lockwood Folly River in Brunswick County, an area popular for oystering and clamming, are closed indefinitely.

COLIN CAMPBELL Electric car chargers (The Insider reports) -- Businesses could charge drivers to use electric vehicle charging stations under a bill that cleared the House Energy and Public Utilities Committee on Tuesday. Currently, car charging stations at shopping centers, municipal parking lots and other locations must be offered free to drivers because their owners aren't allowed to resell electricity -- a practice that's currently only legal for campgrounds and marinas. House Bill 329 would change that and aims to increase the number of charging stations available.

Duke Energy Announces Trio Of Solar Projects Outside N.C. (Solar Industry Magazine) -- Duke Energy Florida has announced the locations of its newest universal solar power plants, totaling 195 MW. The Lake Placid Solar Power Plant will be built on 380 acres in Highlands County. The 45 MW plant will consist of approximately 180,000 tracking solar panels. The project, expected to be in service in December, will be owned, operated and maintained by DEF, which acquired the development rights from EDF Renewables. DEF is responsible for all remaining development activities, including construction.

JEFF HAMPTON: Wildfire vandalism burned 5 acres on Cape Hatteras National Seashore, officials say (Norfolk Virginian-Pilot reports) -- The fire did not start from natural causes, according to a preliminary report

DAVID BAUDER: Google, McClatchy collaborating on local news experiment (AP reports) -- Google and the McClatchy publishing company say they will work together on an experiment launching three digital-only outlets to provide local news in U.S. communities that are currently news "deserts." Besides providing news to the three communities, which the companies haven't named yet, the idea is to test business approaches that could revive local journalism.

JONATHAN DREW: Hospital using drones to fly blood samples between buildings (AP reports) -- A pioneering use of drones to fly blood samples across a N.C. hospital campus launched Tuesday in the latest move to expand their roles in business and health care.