Redistricting


The Importance of Redistricting to Democracy
Why Redistricting Matters

Most of our political representatives, starting with local school boards and going all the way up to members of Congress, are elected from districts. Redrawing the boundary lines for these districts is called redistricting. Under the U.S. Constitution, redistricting happens after each decade’s Census to adjust the districts and make them roughly equal in population size.  

Redistricting is important – it directly affects your ability to be represented in government and have policies adopted that help you and your community.  The way a district’s lines are redrawn to include or exclude certain kinds of people (by party affiliation or race or other factors) will directly affect who gets heard, whose interests are most represented and sometimes even who can win the next election.

At Democracy North Carolina, we believe the redistricting process should be open, fair, and participatory.  To achieve a government “of, by and for the people,” we need districts that are drawn to provide all North Carolinians with a chance for fair representation. That’s why we are partnering with other nonpartisan organizations to improve the redistricting process and to help local groups draw their own maps for local government districts.

 

What You Can Do To Get Involved

Here are some valuable resources, links and ways to be involved in ensuring the redistricting process is a fair one:

Keep In Touch

Keep In Touch On The Issue
The first official maps are out: Read our reaction here.
Are Politicians Picking the Voters or Vice Versa?

Map

In North Carolina, elected representatives are authorized to redraw the district lines for their own governmental body. Too often, they think of their own reelection first, and redistricting becomes a secretive process that puts partisan interests above the people’s interests. It becomes a way for politicians to pick their voters, which turns democracy upside down.

But the map the politicians draw can be challenged as not properly taking into consideration key factors, such as making the district relatively compact, keeping together communities with very similar interests, and complying with the Voting Rights Act’s protection of minority voters in districts with a history of discrimination.

Individuals and community groups can also learn how to use these various factors to draw their own maps of districts, and that map could eventually be viewed by a court or the US Justice Department as fairer than the one drawn by the political representatives and their experts.

 


Democracy North Carolina is a member of the Alliance for Fair Redistricting and Minority Voting Rights (AFRAM). At a May 9th public hearing, AFRAM presented its perspective on the redistricting process to members of the NC General Assembly’s Redistricting Committee. This perspective included the following main points:

BE FAIR AND RESPONSIVE TO PUBLIC INPUT.
The redistricting process should be fair and responsive to public input. The committee should avoid the use of gerrymandering techniques to create an advantage for a particular party or to manipulate geographic boundaries to create partisan and or incumbent-protected districts. Also, districts should fairly reflect minority voting strength without packing, cracking, stacking or otherwise disenfranchising minorities.

BE OPEN AND TRANSPARENT.
The process should be open and transparent. The data, timelines, criteria, goals, draft maps, etc. should be matters of public record, easily accessible on the internet. Guidelines for public submission of proposed redistricting maps should be clearly stated on the website. The public should be allowed to watch the actual map drawing process via video stream, as already implemented during public hearings and other meetings hosted at the General Assembly.

ENCOURAGE MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION.
The committee has not yet publicized its redistricting criteria nor given public access to draft plans under consideration.  Thus, at this stage it is difficult to provide meaningful comment. Redistricting plans should be made public well before the last hearing on May 9, 2011. The public should be afforded an opportunity to provide feedback on proposed maps prior to submission to the United States Department of Justice for preclearance.

PROTECT MINORITY VOTING RIGHTS.
The committee is legally obligated to consider race in the redistricting process. While race cannot be a predominant factor in the process, the Voting Rights Act requires the creation of districts that provide an opportunity for minorities to elect their candidate of choice. The committee should preserve current majority-minority districts and work to create districts that fairly reflect minority voting strength. Minority-coalition districts, crossover districts and influence districts should be enacted to empower previously disenfranchised people of color.

SATISFY LEGAL REQUIREMENTS.
Redistricting plans should comply with the United States Constitution, Sections 2 and 5 of the Voting Rights Act, the North Carolina Constitution, applicable federal and state case law and traditional redistricting principles. While only 40 of the 100 counties in North Carolina are covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act and therefore subject to preclearance, no plan should be retrogressive and have an effect of making minorities worse off than the current plans.