Thread by @JeffJacksonNC

Regarding the recent court ruling on the two constitutional amendments, I would certainly agree that we are a deeply gerrymandered state and that this affects the moral credibility of our state legislature. 1/ #ncpol

In addition to filing numerous bills to end gerrymandering and implement independent redistricting, here’s what I had to say about our state history with gerrymandering recently: 2/

But I’ve got two issues with this ruling:

1. It’s not the appropriate judicial remedy. That would be striking down partisan gerrymandering itself, something the courts should have done a long time ago, and which they may very well do this year, at least in NC. 3/

2. The ruling itself is unworkable. I don’t think there’s a legal principle that would validate statutes but invalidate constitutional amendments on the grounds of gerrymandering. The rationale would be identical for both. 4/

If a legislature can’t be allowed to pass constitutional amendments, then it shouldn’t be allowed to pass statutes either. Which means the precedent here really supports rolling back a decade’s worth of laws. As much as some people might appreciate that, it’s not a viable option.

Even though it is probably in my political interest to embrace this ruling, I can’t. I don’t believe the ends justify the means and in this case the means would be establishing a bad legal precedent. 6/

We need to defeat gerrymandering. I favor a legislative approach and a judicial approach. I’ll be filing a bill on it shortly. But using gerrymandering as a way to collaterally attack the underlying validity of laws is probably not a sound strategy. 7/

I’m saying this publicly because I think it’s important to be consistent in your principles. I think gerrymandering violates the law and I have been out-spoken about it. So I think I have an obligation to speak out when there is a ruling on gerrymandering that I think is wrong.