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redistrict
The county commissioners have been debating whether to redraw the seven districts from which they are elected.
There shouldn’t even be a question. Columbus County is in violation of the law in three areas.
First, the county was required to redraw districts after the 2000 census. It didn’t.
Second, Amon McKenzie’s district, one of the county’s two minority districts, is horribly gerrymandered, wandering like small tributaries stretching from Whiteville to Fair Bluff. The U.S. Supreme Court has said gerrymandering is illegal.
Third, some districts have had at least a 20 percent change in population since the last redistricting. The law states that districts be equally populated.
The commissioners voted 6-1 (McKenzie voted no) earlier this year to redraw districts because the violations of the law are so obvious.
Yet, the county attorney has been slow to get information and others believe we should wait for the 2010 census, even though the new figures usually aren’t available for a year or two. A number of general elections and primaries will come and go with the current illegal districts if we wait five years.
There’s really no other way to look at this matter. Columbus County is in violation of the law. It’s time to redraw districts.