Judicial, DA Boundary Line Changes Approved By House Panel

A North Carolina House committee has approved a plan to redraw the state's electoral boundaries for trial court judges and district attorneys. The bill appears to be on a fast track for a full House vote.

A House judiciary panel debated and voted on Monday along party lines for proposed districts drawn by Republicans for Superior Court, District Court and DAs.

Local prosecutors are elected in partisan races. Trial court races turned nonpartisan in the 1990's, but a new law reverts them to officially partisan affairs in 2018.

Bill sponsor Rep. Justin Burr of Albemarle says the measure is the first of many steps to make judicial and prosecutorial districts more uniform. But committee Democrats accused him of gerrymandering boundaries to benefit GOP candidates.

The bill now heads to the full House for a vote, despite requests from election reform advocates to study the matter further.