Officials: DOJ Ruling Won't Affect Redistricting Suit

State officials and political pundits said the U.S. Department of Justice's approval Monday of North Carolina's legislative redistricting plans will have no official impact on the ongoing Republican lawsuit against the Democratic party.

The lawsuit states that the N.C. House and Senate redistricting plans violate the N.C. Constitution by splitting counties and packing voters into districts politically advantageous to the Democrats.

A N.C. Superior Court hearing on the lawsuit is set for Friday.

The Justice Department found that the House and Senate's plans are in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a law designed to safeguard the voting rights of minorities in many Southern states.

N.C. Senate Minority Leader Patrick Ballantine, R-New Hanover, the ranking minority member on the Senate Redistricting Committee, said the Justice Department ruling should have little effect on Friday's hearing.

He added that the the Voting Rights Act and the county-splitting accusation of the Republican lawsuit are not overlapping issues. "The two issues are mutually exclusive," Ballantine said. "The only effect it could possibly have is the altogether human, and not legal, influence it could have on the judge."

Although the Justice Department's ruling lacks a legal impact, Ballantine said the judge overseeing Friday's hearing is now under greater pressure to make a fair decision.

"This ruling makes the gravity of his decision that much more important," he said. "He'll be feeling more pressure now."

Rep. Donald Bonner, D-Robeson, a member of the House Legislative Redistricting Committee, said that although the issues are unrelated, the Justice Department's ruling gives the House and Senate plans added credibility.

"I don't think there's any one plan that both sides of the House or Senate will agree on," he said, "but I think having federal approval tells us we're heading in the right direction."

Ferrel Guillory, director of UNC's program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life, said the Justice Department's ruling would have a symbolic, but not legal, effect.

"The Justice Department finding strengthens the case for the House and Senate keeping the districts the way they are," he said. "Federal approval of the plans is a hurdle that the legislature has now passed."

The Justice Department is expected to rule on the N.C. congressional redistricting plans by the end of the week.

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.