In Greensboro, Court-Hired Map Expert Explains His Changes To NC Districts

A three-judge panel that hired a special master to redraw the state's legislative boundaries got to hear from their expert Friday in the Greensboro federal courtroom.

The judges tapped Nathaniel Persily to fix some districts that critics said remained racially gerrymandered even after the courts forced state officials to redraw them last year. Persily said his maps trimmed off some finger-like extensions that the old maps had used to reach targeted neighborhoods, mostly in large, urban areas of the state.

He says overall his districts are more compact, use actual municipal boundaries better, and address concerns about packing too many minorities into too few districts.

During the hearing, attorney's for the GOP-led legislature presented their own expert to counter Persily's maps. Doug Johnson said it appeared that Persily relied too heavily on race, as if he were trying to hit some target number of black voters – a claim Persily denied.

Johnson's maps weren't offered as alternatives to be used in place of Persily's. Instead, they were used as evidence that the special master's maps could be faulted for things such as how compact they are.

Judge Jim Wynn questioned why Johnson couldn't have worked with Persily rather than criticizing his maps after they were completed.

The judges did not make an immediate decision on whether to accept Persily's maps for this year's election. Candidates are scheduled to file for office in February.