news-record.com

Tuesday's City Council primary elections in Greensboro aren't for Democrats or Republicans. They're nonpartisan and open to all registered voters.

That means candidates don't carry party labels, either. Each one runs independently, not on anyone's ticket.

That's appropriate, because public safety, streets, sanitation, parks, libraries and other city services and responsibilities aren't partisan concerns.

Most North Carolina municipalities have abandoned partisan elections over the years. The change makes it easier for unaffiliated candidates to get on the ballot, includes all voters in primaries and -- maybe -- produces better government by breaking down the party lines that always seem to divide Democrats and Republicans in Raleigh and Washington.

Charlotte is the most notable exception. The state's largest city still elects its mayor and council members in partisan contests.

So does the Lenoir County town of Kinston, even though 64 percent of voters supported an initiative last November to switch to nonpartisan elections.

Incredibly, the U.S. Department of Justice denied the change, citing provisions of the Voting Rights Act.

"Removing the partisan cue in municipal elections will, in all likelihood, eliminate the single factor that allows black candidates to be elected to office," Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King wrote in an Aug. 17 letter to Kinston's attorney.

"In Kinston elections, voters base their choice more on the race of a candidate rather than his or her political affiliation, and without either the appeal to party loyalty or the ability to vote a straight ticket, the limited remaining support from white voters for a black Democratic candidate will diminish even more," King ruled.

The rejection makes little sense given Kinston's demographics: 65 percent of registered voters are black. Their turnout in elections has been less than that, but their majority status gives them the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice, with or without the support of white residents casting straight-ticket votes for Democrats.

The Justice Department takes the odd position that Kinston voters must be prompted by party label to vote for Democratic candidates in order to ensure racially acceptable election outcomes. It's a disappointing attitude.

Fortunately, the federal lawyers haven't challenged nonpartisan election systems in Greensboro or other North Carolina cities where they've worked well for years. Voters can make informed choices without benefit of party designations, and primaries are for everyone.

So there's no reason Tuesday for anyone not to get out and vote.