North Carolinians Are Fed Up With Gerrymandering, Want Courts to Ensure Fair Maps

Across the country, Republicans are locking in newly gerrymandered maps for state legislatures that are aimed at securing the party’s control over the next decade – solidifying a political advantage for Republicans at the expense of fair representation for voters. 

In North Carolina, Republicans crafted gerrymandered maps that blatantly pack and split communities apart to keep districts safe for their party. 

The maps in question have received grades of “F” by The Princeton Gerrymandering Project for partisan fairness, citing “significant Republican advantage”. The Republican maps have been marked as one of the very worst proposals anywhere in the country.

• If Republicans were thinking North Carolina voters would let their gerrymandered maps slide, they thought wrong. According to a new poll, more than 70 percent of voters describe gerrymandering as either a “very serious” or “somewhat serious” problem in the state.
  
• “North Carolinians are just fed up with gerrymandering, the power grabs, the endless lawsuits that result from both of them,” stated Melissa Price Kromm, director of North Carolina Voters for Clean Elections.
  
• More than 70 percent of voters believe that state courts should be aggressive in limiting gerrymandering. Overall, 74 percent of voters, including Republicans, support efforts by state courts to ensure that maps are fair and constitutional.
  
• The poll shows “North Carolinians are concerned with their voting and want valid maps,” according to Eddie Speas, a legal expert from Poyner Spruill LLP.
  
• In addition, more than 70 percent of voters believe that Justice Phil Berger Jr. should recuse himself and let other justices hear cases involving his father.
  
• “It’s a pretty overwhelming outcome here. It’s very unusual in this day and age, especially in a swing state like North Carolina, for there to be consensus on almost anything,” stated Jim Williams, polling analyst for Public Policy Polling.

Instead of crafting maps that give fair representation and accessibility for every voter to exercise their constitutional right, Republicans have doubled-down on gerrymandered maps that ignore the will of the people and don’t represent the people of North Carolina. 

Bottom Line:

North Carolinians deserved better than this age-old tactic that has been struck down by state courts in the past.

Amid ongoing redistricting litigation, North Carolinians have made it clear that they want electoral maps that give everyone fair representation and reflect our communities as a whole. Furthermore, voters understand the court’s role in protecting our elections from political gerrymandering, as seen in the latest maps.

It’s up to our state courts to uphold the rule of law and protect North Carolinians interests.