North Carolina legislators have taken another step toward redrawing judicial election districts, although the changes would only apply in Mecklenburg County. A Senate elections committee Tuesday voted to create eight identical election districts for the county’s superior and district court seats. Voters in each district ultimately would elect one Superior Court judge and two or three District Court judges.
Mecklenburg County currently has 21 District Court judgeships elected by the whole county. Similar bills last year that would have divided the county into multiple districts drew concern from many of the county’s judges. They pointed out that dividing the district would take away the ability of citizens to vote for most of the judges that sit in the county and could make for a less diverse bench.
For the Superior Court, some lawmakers have argued population imbalances within Mecklenburg County’s three districts are likely unconstitutional.