RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A judicial remapping plan in which District Court judges in North Carolina’s two most-populated counties will no longer be elected by all county residents has quickly passed the General Assembly and is heading to Gov. Roy Cooper.
The Senate agreed 28-14 Tuesday to House changes to a bill that allocated District Court seats in Mecklenburg County to eight election districts, which also formed new Superior Court districts. The House decided Wake County District Court judges also would be voted on from election districts as well, not countywide.
The bill in part addressed population imbalances in Mecklenburg Superior Court districts that Republicans worried were unconstitutional. Democrats say the measure diminishes powers of Wake and Mecklenburg voters and narrows residency requirements for candidates.
Cooper has been critical of recent judicial redistricting efforts.
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