The magazine of the North Carolina Center for Voter Education • Saturday May 19, 2012

Finding True North in Campaigns and Elections

By Damon Circosta
Published: July 12, 2011

RALEIGH - Orienteering has been enjoying a resurgence as of late. The sport involves finding your way through unfamiliar terrain using only a compass. Any orienteer worth his salt will tell you that in order to be successful you need to find “true north” and make it the point by which you set your compass. If it is off, everything else gets skewed.

Republicans in the General Assembly are also in some unfamiliar terrain, coming into this year’s session with full control of the legislature for the first time in 140 years.

This week, lawmakers are returning to Raleigh in order to consider changes to election laws and to determine the geographic boundaries of their political districts. Having been in the political wilderness for so many years, Republicans have an opportunity to find their true north when it comes to campaigns and elections. It is an opportunity to demonstrate to the people that elected them -- and even those who didn’t -- what they value in our democracy.

Cynics will argue that it doesn’t matter which party is in charge and that politicians will always use their power to shape laws to further entrench their control. Certainly such cynicism is understandable as history is full of examples of the ruling party manipulating policy to benefit themselves and their friends.

But having campaigned on promises of ushering in a new era of transparency and fairness, our elected officials have an opportunity to make a bold statement this month. As they take up the often-contentious issues of election law and redistricting, they can reject the politics of the past. Instead of making short-term electoral advantage their priority, they could make inclusion and fairness their true north. As they consider what, if any, changes they will make, their beacon should be what is best for voters -- not what is best for politicians.

Specifically, the General Assembly should be skeptical of any proposal that limits where, how and when people vote. North Carolina has been trending in the right direction when it comes to civic participation. Though not perfect, our system of widely available early voting and registration opportunities, combined with plentiful election sites, has helped increase turnout. Our democracy is only legitimate so long as there is ample input from voters. We should be wary of any proposal to limit such participation.

Further, the General Assembly should use this session to increase the transparency when it comes to how money flows through our political system. In last year’s Citizens United decision, the U.S. Supreme Court said that unions and corporations can use unlimited funds to elect candidates. But the same court also said that we can require those who spend money on our elections to disclose their funding sources and expenditures. A robust disclosure law would let people know who is trying to influence our political system.

Lastly, as our politicians redraw legislative boundaries, they should consider ending, once and for all, the shameful practice of gerrymandering.

Gerrymandering is where politicians essentially choose their voters by crafting odd-looking districts that will reliably elect incumbents of whatever party is drawing the lines. Having suffered for so many years at the gerrymandering pen of the Democrats, Republicans should know that the best way to draw lines is to get a neutral party to do it. They have a bill before them that could end mischievous line drawing that results in perverse-looking maps.

But in order to get better maps, their compass needs a true north that values voter participation over partisan politics. Here is to hoping they can point us in the right direction.