Expert: GOP launched 'direct attack on black political participation'

A surprising development has emerged in a fight that will help determine the outcome of elections this year.

Former UNC Charlotte professor Ted Arrington, an independent and recognized expert on redistricting, filed an affidavit saying Republicans used race as a predominant factor in drawing new maps for congressional and legislative districts.

The Republicans “systematically moved blocks in or out of their precincts on the basis of their race. No other explanation is possible given the statistical data,” Arrington wrote in an affidavit filed in Wake County Superior Court last week.

Democrats and the NAACP are asking the court to block the maps from being used until a trial can be held. The state is asking the court to throw out the suit. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

The maps are marked by large numbers of split counties and split precincts, mostly in minority communities. Arrington says the split precincts could confuse voters and hurt voter turnout, especially among black voters.

Arrington said that the GOP packed minority voters into the same districts beyond what they would need to elect minority candidates. That makes other districts safer for whites, and Republicans.

“The General Assembly has created in all three plans a kind of political apartheid,” Arrington wrote. He called it “a direct attack on black political participation.”

Arrington’s affidavit is important because he has been widely regarded as an expert in districting, reapportionment and other voting behavor for decades. He has been an expert witness in more than 40 voting rights cases and his testimony has been cited in a number of precedent-setting cases. He was chairman of the Political Science Department at UNC Charlotte for 18 years and was faculty president. His testimony has helped both parties over the years. He was an active Republican for many years before joining the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections in 1979.

Elections have consequences, and Republicans took control of the legislature in November 2010. Democrats drew district boundaries to benefit their party for decades; Republicans did the same this time. A judge will decide whether they crossed the line from strategic to unacceptable.

Arrington’s affidavit sure won’t help them. We hope the challenge is settled quickly, so that candidate filing can begin as scheduled Feb. 13 and the primary can be held on time, on May 8.

-- Taylor Batten