GOP lawmakers reintroduce constitutional amendment to radically overhaul state Senate districts

Yahoo

05-03-2025

North Carolina Legislative Building (Photo: Clayton Henkel)
Experts say it would run afoul of the U.S. Constitution and long-established U.S. Supreme Court precedent, but that hasn't deterred a group of Republican members of the state House from reintroducing an amendment to the state constitution that would dramatically alter how North Carolinians elect state senators.
Under the proposal, each of the state's 50 senators would represent two of the state's 100 counties, rather than a roughly equal number of state residents, as is the case now. Rep. Jay Adams (R-Catawba), who is one of the measure's chief sponsors, filed House Bill 234, which is entitled 'Little Federal Model NC Edition,' on Feb. 26. Adams introduced the same proposal in 2023, but it died in committee.
The General Assembly would have jurisdiction to decide which two counties would make up each senatorial district. The current state House electoral system would be unaffected.
The proposal would almost certainly have the effect of further expanding Republican dominance in the Senate — where it currently enjoys a 30-20 advantage — by allotting many more senators to conservative, rural areas.
Wake and Mecklenburg counties, the homes of Raleigh and Charlotte, respectively, are the state's most populous. They each have six senators representing portions of the counties in the 2025-2026 legislative session, according to the General Assembly's website.
Of these 12 lawmakers, only one is Republican: Rep. Vickie Sawyer, whose district covers part of Mecklenburg County and all of Iredell County.
If the proposed amendment were to become law, one senator would represent Wake and a neighboring county — the text declares districts must consist of 'contiguous territory.'
This means that instead of six Democratic lawmakers representing portions of Wake County, there would be only one, whose constituency would be comprised of North Carolina's most populous county and an additional adjoining county.
In contrast, the district of Republican Sen. Ralph Hise — chair of the Senate Elections Committee — covers nine western counties in the current legislative session. For seven of these, he is the county's sole senator.
Under the proposed measure, Hise would represent two counties. The other five counties for which he is the currently lone senator would be assigned to different districts, almost assuredly increasing Republican representation in the upper chamber.
As these counties are less populous, Hise's hypothetical district and those of other lawmakers from rural areas would serve drastically fewer constituents than the senator for Wake and a neighboring county.
When Adams' proposal was introduced two years ago, multiple experts panned it as unconstitutional.
Catawba College Professor of Politics and History Michael Bitzer told WGHP television, 'By my read, this legislature would need an overturning of the 1964 US Supreme Court case of Reynolds v. Sims, where a lower court held that Alabama, with an apportionment akin to the US Senate (using counties as Senate districts), was unconstitutional, due to violating the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection of the Law and the population disparities between districts.'
The Reynolds case was one of a group of rulings the Court issued in the early 1960's that validated the principle of 'one person, one vote' in state legislative elections.
In 2023, Adams defended the measure — which draws its name from the resemblance it bears to the way in the U.S. Senate is organized — by telling WGHP it would correct imbalances he saw in state policy that favor urban communities over rural.
He also questioned the Supreme Court precedent since it was established under the leadership of then-Chief Justice Earl Warren, who was widely vilified by southerners and segregationists. 'I am old enough to remember the billboards that said, 'Impeach Earl Warren.' I'm beginning to understand why,' Adams said.
If passed, the amendment would appear on the ballot for the November 2026 general election.
Adams and Hise did not respond to NC Newsline's requests for comment.
Rob Schofield contributed to this report.