North Carolina's Sick Democracy: Racial Gerrymanders, Political Gerrymanders, and Voting Rules as Tools for Partisan Entrenchment

Abstract

Representative democracy in North Carolina has been under assault in myriad ways. These include the legislature’s on-going attempts to restrict access to the ballot and to rig elections by racial and political gerrymanders among others. Gerrymandering, drawing electoral districts entrench the party in power (Republican, in this case) left North Carolina with one of the most gerrymandered legislatures in the nation. The effect has been to undermine popular sovereignty and competitive elections. This article attempts to survey judicial responses to some of the most recent attacks on democratic government in North Carolina. The assault has multiple prongs, but the objective of partisan entrenchment unites them. So this article looks at a some of these assaults as a way of thinking about how they work synergistically. This survey is useful in evaluating recent iterations of the assaults including ones not covered here.

Keywords: Gerrymandering, racial gerrymandering, voting, elections