The North Carolina Legislature’s Congressional Maps Go From Gerrymandered to Fair to Even More Gerrymandered in Two Years

Brian Beihl

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Oct. 24, 2023

Map – North Carolina Legislature

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Oct.19th, the North Carolina Senate Redistricting Committee presented its latest Congressional redistricting maps.  After three years of wrangling, including two state supreme court cases and a U.S. Supreme Court case, it’s now MORE gerrymandered than its original 2021 map. 

When conservatives took control of the North Carolina Supreme Court this spring, they immediately overturned decisions made by the previous court which threw out the 2021 proposal as unconstitutional, and ordered a more competitive map. That map had 6 Democratic-leaning seats, 7 Republican-leaning seats and 1 highly competitive seat. Conservatives argued that they should have had a 9 to 5 GOP advantage.

That map was challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court’s Moore v. Harper, the independent state legislature case. Justices shot down the fringe ISL theory, but the state court later vacated the competitive map, leaving it again to a legislature drunk on partisan power to draw the maps.

Last week, two new gerrymandered proposals abandoned any pretense of competitive districts.  Analysis by WFAE Public Radio shows one version packing Republicans into 11 districts and Democrats into three, and in the second, packing Republicans into 10 districts, Democrats into three, and one toss up.  

Whichever map is chosen, it’s likely to face a court challenge, but pending a decision, it may be in place for the 2024 election. 

We have links to the maps, analysis, and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
FiveThirtyEight – Analysis of North Carolina’s 2021 and 2022 Congressional Redistricting Maps
Brennan Center for Justice – Moore v. Harper, Explained
North Carolina Legislature – LEGISLATIVE AND CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING
BallotPedia – North Carolina Supreme Court vacates state’s congressional, legislative maps
NC Newsline – Plans for new NC congressional districts would elect more Republicans to Congress
WFAE Public Radio – After aggressive gerrymandering, a look at what’s next and who is ‘toast’ in North Carolina
Associated Press – North Carolina Republicans pitch Congress maps that could help them pick up 3 or 4 seats next year

Groups Taking Action:
Common Cause NC, Democracy North Carolina, North Carolina Black Alliance, Action NC, League of Women Voters NC 

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#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #Gerrymandering #RacialGerrymandering #FairMaps #NorthCarolinaPolitics