Carolina Journal has covered the good, the bad and the ugly of the once a decade redistricting process since 2001. We’ve accused both Republicans and Democrats of partisan gerrymandering as the most compelling reason to create an independent commission. The John Locke Foundation has been part of a good government coalition advocating for an independent redistricting commission since 2006. Hood has weighed in a few times over the years, like here and here and here and here and here.
House Bill 92 which would set up an independent redistricting commission has 62 sponsors and is set for a hearing in the House Elections Committee.
But what an independent restricting commission would look like in North Carolina may lie in a US Supreme Court case involving the question in Arizona:
The case will decide whether voters can deny state legislatures the power to draw congressional districts, which proponents of redistricting reform say helps stop lawmakers from consolidating power or gerrymandering a district map that favors their party.Decision expected before they adjourn in June.
