Forsyth County is one of the prime examples of redistricting gone astray, according to a lawsuit filed in Wake County on Thursday that seeks to overturn Republican-drawn boundaries for the state's congressional and legislative districts.
The suit, backed by Democrats, argues that the redistricting maps should be struck down and the boundaries redrawn because they illegally cluster black voters in districts, needlessly split hundreds of voting precincts, and cross too many county lines.
Among the 44 plaintiffs are state Sen. Linda Garrou, D-Forsyth, whose home was drawn out of the 32nd District, which she currently represents, and two other residents of Forsyth County.
The suit charges that Republicans in charge of redistricting decided they could maximize their party's chances in future elections by drawing as many districts as possible in which blacks are a majority.
The suit faults the Senate redistricting plan for dividing 257 precincts between two or more districts. In Forsyth County, 43 precincts are divided between the 32nd and 31st districts. A map of the 32nd District, showing all the divided precincts, is featured prominently on the fourth page of the lawsuit.
Garrou could not be reached Thursday for comment. In drawing the 32nd District, Republicans said they were intentionally removing Garrou, who is white, from her district to give a black candidate a chance at representing it. The district is about 40 percent black under both the old and new plans.
One Forsyth County plaintiff, Hayes McNeill, who is active in the state and local Democratic Party, said that the exclusion of Garrou from her district was "a spiteful thing."
"These maps are so bad, there has never been as many split precincts on any map of North Carolina," McNeill said. "A lot of us for years have wanted to see an independent commission do this. This is patently unfair."
Several other groups plan to file another redistricting challenge in court today. A three-judge panel chosen by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Sarah Parker will hear the challenges.
Rob Coffman, the director of the Forsyth County Board of Elections, said the lawsuits could delay the 2012 elections.
"It could cause a delay in the election process by several months, which could affect our presidential primary," Coffman said. "North Carolina has a history of litigation at redistricting time."
Candidates begin filing for 2012 offices in mid-February, unless the lawsuits delay the process.
Republicans say the maps are lawful. They said that Tuesday's decision by the U.S. Department of Justice not to oppose the maps is proof that the boundaries were written according to law.
The allegation of packing black voters into districts "is as false as it was in the debate that was used when the maps were passed," said Rep. David Lewis, R-Harnett, the House redistricting chairman. "These folks have been threatening to sue us for months, so I'm not at all surprised."
Republican redistricting leaders said they were obliged by the federal Voting Rights Act to create majority-black districts where the population allowed for it, but two current lawmakers argued against the validity of the maps.
"The Republicans in the General Assembly who drew these maps came up with a plan that re-segregates North Carolina as much as possible and then hid behind federal law to justify it," said Senate Minority Leader Martin Nesbitt, D-Buncombe, and House Minority Leader Joe Hackney, D-Orange.
The lawsuit said Republicans failed to comply with a 2002 state Supreme Court ruling that bars the splitting of counties as long as boundaries comply with the Voting Rights Act and protect minority voting strength.
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