Public hearings are taking place Tuesday across North Carolina to gather input on the newly drawn legislative districts. Lawmakers are redrawing them because federal judges found Republicans gave too much weight to race in the previous maps.
Republicans say the proposed maps break up fewer precincts, and don't take race into account when determining the legislative lines. Democrats counter that the revisions still heavily favor the GOP.
Wake Forest University political science professor John Dinan says lawmakers focused on partisanship and voting patterns.
“On the partisan issue, we're still sifting through the data,” says Dinan. “What we can see is that not surprisingly Republicans hold advantages in the clear majority of the House and the Senate districts as they are drawn up based on the data that we've seen. But whether or not they hold advantages in a super majority, that is three-fifths in the House and Senate seats, is still to be determined and that will be fought out in the elections of 2018.”
Republicans currently hold 74 of the 120 House seats and 35 of the 50 Senate seats.
The public hearings will take place in Raleigh, and at several other locations, including at Guilford Technical Community College in Jamestown.
State lawmakers are expected to finalize new House and Senate district lines next week. But Dinan says the approval process doesn't stop there.
“They still must pass court muster and they court has to decide whether or not they fixed the violation. The violation being that 28 districts in the existing maps took too much account of race and the three-judge district court will have to decide whether or not that violation has been addressed,” says Dinan.
The maps have to be presented to the court by Sept. 1.
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