CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Efforts by Texas lawmakers to redraw congressional maps further in their favor has placed a renewed focus on gerrymandering, the drawing and redrawing of electoral districts to benefit a single party.
The practice is not isolated to Texas.
“That’s what we have in North Carolina,” said Bob Phillips with Common Cause NC, a group advocating for fair, nonpartisan maps. “Most of the legislative, most of the congressional districts, we already know who’s going to win because the way the lines are drawn, and actually that’s the way it is in much of the country.”
A power grab by NC Republicans becomes a referendum on democracy in the states
Despite North Carolina being classified as a “purple” state, gerrymandering by state Republicans gave the GOP a 10-4 control of congressional seats and only one seat short of a total supermajority in Raleigh. As Philips points out, it is a strategy that has been used by both parties.
“When the Democrats were in control, they never supported redistricting reform. When they lost control, then they are jumping all over it,” said Phillips.
Democrats have tried multiple times in recent years to pass legislation that would allow voters to decide how districts are drawn, by lawmakers or a nonpartisan commission. One of the authors of the latest bills, Buncombe County State Rep. Lindsey Prather, acknowledged her party has a history of gerrymandering.
“I’m well aware of the fact that Democrats gerrymandered in the past here in North Carolina. They did. And there are Democrats that are gerrymandering in other states right now across the country,” said Prather.
But she argued that it doesn’t eliminate the need for new maps.
No reelection campaign for Democratic after North Carolina GOP redrew U.S. House map
“We are a purple state, and our voters support nonpartisan state and our voters support nonpartisan, independent redistricting which is why this bill that we wrote would put it to the ballot,” Prather added.
Outside the legislature, former N.C. Supreme Court Justice Bob Orr has taken legal action. He’s asking the State Court of Appeals to order maps be fairly drawn, creating districts that are compact and connected, not based on voting patterns.
“If you don’t have fair elections then democracy fails,” said Orr.
It Is Orr’s hope this renewed attention caused by the controversy in Texas will convince both the public and those in power that change is essential.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
Comments