GOP ready to redraw N.C.'s political map

Republicans promise fair, legal boundaries in redistricting

RALEIGH (By Jim Morrill, CharlotteObserver.com) - It's the mantra of North Carolina's Republican leaders: This year's political redistricting will be "fair and legal."

They don't say it will be nonpartisan.

The process that will change voting districts for millions of North Carolinians - and the state's political landscape for at least a decade - starts Wednesday when House and Senate lawmakers charged with redrawing districts meet for the first time. A series of public hearings will start in April.