| Legislative
Bulletin |
December
12, 2001 |
 |
For complete information on congressional redistricting,
including detailed maps, go to: www.ncleg.net/gascripts/geography/proposed_plans.asp?PlanName=Congress_ZeroDeviation
For complete information on Senate redistricting, including
detailed maps, go to:
www.ncleg.net/gascripts/geography/proposed_plans.asp?PlanName=NC_Senate_Plan_1C
For complete information on House redistricting, including
detailed maps, go to:
www.ncleg.net/gascripts/geography/proposed_plans.asp?PlanName=Sutton_House_Plan_3
House redistricting plan shifts power to urban areas
Reflecting
the surge in population in the state’s urban areas, the
redistricting plan adopted by the House last month creates two
additional districts in Wake County, giving it 10, and three
in Mecklenburg County, giving it 13. The greater political
power those and other urban areas gain under the new House map
come at the expense of the state’s rural areas, mainly Down
East, which will lose seats in the House.
Observers said the redistricting plan should help Democrats
widen their current slim majority in the 120-member House from
the 62 seats they now hold to 65 or perhaps 66. If could go
much further toward solidifying the Democrats’ control of
the chamber. An NCFREE analysis found that the new map
increased the number of “safe Democratic” seats in the
House from 25 to 38 and the number of “favor Democratic”
House districts from 16 to 22. Similarly, the plan reduces the
number of “safe Republican” districts from 31 to 24.
The plan reduces the number of two- and three-member House
districts, thereby increasing the total number of districts
from 98 to 112. A major criticism of the House redistricting
plan is that it splits 70 counties into different districts,
far more than now.
The House redistricting plan, hotly debated for more than a
month, was rammed through the chamber by Speaker Jim Black
after he struck a deal with five African-American Democrats
and one dissident Republican. Their votes gave him a 63-57
majority and allowed the plan to pass over the strident
objections of Minority Leader Leo Daughtry (R-Johnston).
The Republican Party promptly filed a lawsuit to block
implementation of the plan. Of greater concern is that the new
House map must now be reviewed and approved by the U.S.
Justice Department to ensure it doesn’t dilute
African-American voting strength. It will take the Justice
Department from 60 to 120 days to complete that review,
meaning a likely delay in the beginning of the candidate
filing period next January and possibly the May primaries as
well.
The five African-American Democrats demanded, and got, 15
districts where blacks are in the majority and three others
where blacks make up 40 percent to 49 percent of the
population. The current House has 14 minority-majority
districts and six where the population is 40 percent to 49
percent African-American. Rep. Monroe Buchanan (R-Mitchell),
who previously was booted out of the GOP Caucus for siding
with Democrats on budget issues, was the only Republican to
vote for the redistricting plan.
Senate
Democrats look even stronger under redistricting plan
The
already solid Democratic majority in the state Senate may get
even stronger under the redistricting plan adopted in that
chamber. According to an NCFREE analysis, the number of
“safe Democrat” seats in Senate increases from 9 to 24
under the redistricting plan while the number of “safe
GOP” seats rises from 12 to 14. The number of swing
districts falls from 14 to five, according to the NCFREE
analysis.
Like the House, the Senate redistricting plan shifts power
from rural areas to the big cities, reflecting the cities’
gains in population. Wake County gains another Senate district
and will have six senators from five districts.
Several charts detailing the demographic and political makeup
of the redrawn congressional district as well as the new House
and Senate districts are available at the General Assembly’s
web site.
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