RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Election districts in western North Carolina’s largest municipality would be redrawn because city leaders failed to do so under legislation moving through a General Assembly chamber.
The Senate elections committee voted Thursday to end Asheville’s current practice of all voters choosing all six city council members. Instead, one member would be elected at-large, with the other five members elected in geographic districts by voters in those particular regions.
The General Assembly approved a law last year directing Asheville leaders to create the single-member districts by last November, but they didn’t. Instead, city voters rejected the redistricting idea in a referendum. The 2017 law said the General Assembly would draw new maps this year if Asheville didn’t.
The bill could go to the Senate floor early next week.
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