LOD: General Assembly Maps

Catawba College professor of politics and history Dr. Michael Blitzer has sorted through the data for the General Assembly districts proposed by the Republican majority. His conclusion: 90% of the seats are drawn with a decidedly partisan tilt, heavily toward the Republicans, nearly guaranteeing that party majority control of both legislative chambers for the next decade. In the House, the GOP has 33 “safe” seats and 39 that “lean” in their favor, for a total of 72 out of 120 seats. Another 12 of the 120 are “toss up.” In the Senate, the GOP has 13 “safe” and 16 “lean” seats or 29 of the 50 seats. Five others are “toss up.” Republicans achieved this masterful gerrymandering by segregating large numbers of African Americans and Democrats into districts where they form a super-majority, while reducing their numbers substantially in many other districts, making them more pro-Republican. The NC FreeEnterprise Foundation provides handy charts that compare the current and proposed partisan breakdown in the Senate and House districts. As NCFEF points out, “Keep in mind that when Republican registration meets 35 percent, it typically signals that Republicans face a level playing field with Democrats” because so many white Democrats routinely vote for the Republican candidate. The partisan redistricting process that produces an intensely partisan outcome took plenty of hits in the public hearing yesterday, and so did the fact that so many of the casualties are Democratic women.