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Redistricting is the process of enacting new congressional and state legislative district boundaries. On Nov. 4, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to enact a congressional map. The map passed the North Carolina State Senate 27-22 on Nov. 2, and the North Carolina House of Representatives 65-49 on Nov. 4.[1] This map takes effect for North Carolina's 2022 congressional elections. On Nov. 4, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to enact legislative maps. The house map passed the North Carolina House of Representatives 67-49 on Nov. 2, and the North Carolina State Senate 25-21 on Nov. 4.[2] The senate map passed 26-19 in the North Carolina State Senate on Nov. 3 and 65-49 in the North Carolina House of Representatives on Nov. 4.[3] These maps take effect for North Carolina's 2022 legislative elections. Click here for more information.
This article chronicles the 2020 redistricting cycle in North Carolina.
North Carolina's 14 United States representatives and 170 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.
See the sections below for further information on the following topics:
This section lists major events in the post-2020 census redistricting cycle in reverse chronological order. Major events include the release of apportionment data, the release of census population data, the introduction of formal map proposals, the enactment of new maps, and noteworthy court challenges. Click the dates below for additional information.
On Nov. 4, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to enact a congressional map. The map passed the North Carolina State Senate 27-22 on Nov. 2, and the North Carolina House of Representatives 65-49 on Nov. 4.[4] This map takes effect for North Carolina's 2022 congressional elections.
On Nov. 4, the North Carolina General Assembly voted to enact legislative maps. The house map passed the North Carolina House of Representatives 67-49 on Nov. 2, and the North Carolina State Senate 25-21 on Nov. 4.[5] The senate map passed 26-19 in the North Carolina State Senate on Nov. 3 and 65-49 in the North Carolina House of Representatives on Nov. 4.[6] These maps take effect for North Carolina's 2022 legislative elections.
Rep. Destin Hall (R), chair of the House Redistricting Committee, said: "This is the most transparent process in the history of this state. We voluntarily chose to be out in public and not use election data, even though by law we didn't have to do that. We chose to do that because that's the right thing to do."[7] Sen. Ralph Hise (R), co-chairman of the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee, said: "I feel that we have complied with the law" in drawing the maps.[8]
Rep. Kandie Smith (D) criticized the maps, saying: "When I look at these congressional maps - they stink. People don't want gerrymandering. That's what we have, People don't want us packing. That's what we're doing. People don't want us to separate people with the same interest. That's what we're doing."[7] Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D) said: "Is it going to come down to litigation being filed? Yes — and what the courts have to say about it."[8]
In North Carolina, the state legislature is responsible for drawing both congressional and state legislative district lines. District maps cannot be vetoed by the governor. State legislative redistricting must take place in the first regular legislative session following the United States Census. There are no explicit deadlines in place for congressional redistricting.[9]
State law establishes the following requirements for state legislative districts:[9]
There are no similar restrictions in place regarding congressional districts.[9]
On February 23, 2021, Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the state board of elections, recommended that state lawmakers postpone North Carolina's 2022 primary election, scheduled for March 8, 2022, by two months. Lauren Horsch, a representative for Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger (R), said. “Legislators are currently evaluating the impact of the delayed census on the 2021 elections. There are no plans to move the primaries.”[10]
On August 9, the House Redistricting Committee and Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee met for the first time, with two other meetings scheduled for August 10 and August 12, to establish redistricting criteria and take comments from the public.[11]
North Carolina's redistricting committees announced a series of public hearings on redistricting:[12] Additional hearings in October were also announced.[13]
| North Carolina redistricting hearings, 2020 cycle | |
|---|---|
| Date | Location |
| September 8, 2021 | Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute |
| September 14, 2021 | Forsyth Technical Community College |
| September 14, 2021 | Elizabeth City State University |
| September 15, 2021 | Durham Technical Community College |
| September 15, 2021 | Nash Community College |
| September 16, 2021 | Alamance Community College |
| September 16, 2021 | Pitt Community College |
| September 21, 2021 | Western Carolina University |
| September 22, 2021 | Central Piedmont Community College |
| September 23, 2021 | Mitchell Community College (Iredell County Campus) |
| September 28, 2021 | UNC-Pembroke |
| September 29, 2021 | UNC-Wilmington |
| September 30, 2021 | Fayetteville Technical Community College |
| North Carolina redistricting hearings, 2020 cycle | |
|---|---|
| Date | Location |
| October 25, 2021 - 3 p.m. | North Carolina General Assembly, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and Caldwell Community College |
| October 25, 2021 - 5:30 p.m. | Virtual |
| October 26, 2021 - 3 p.m. | North Carolina General Assembly, East Carolina University, and Central Piedmont Community College |
| October 26, 2021 - 5:30 p.m. | Virtual |
In North Carolina, the following committees are involved in the redistricting process: the House Redistricting Committee and the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee. As of June 17, 2021, these committees had the following members:[14][15]
| North Carolina House Redistricting Committee membership, 2020 cycle | |
|---|---|
| Name | Partisan affiliation |
| Rep. Destin Hall (Chairman) | |
| Rep. William Richardson (Vice-Chairman) | |
| Rep. Jason Saine (Vice-Chairman) | |
| Rep. John Torbett (Vice-Chairman) | |
| Rep. Cecil Brockman | |
| Rep. Becky Carney | |
| Rep. Linda Cooper-Suggs | |
| Rep. Jimmy Dixon | |
| Rep. Jon Hardister | |
| Rep. Pricey Harrison | |
| Rep. Kelly Hastings | |
| Rep. Zack Hawkins | |
| Rep. Grey Mills | |
| Rep. Robert Reives | |
| Rep. David Rogers | |
| Rep. John Sauls | |
| Rep. John Szoka | |
| Rep. Harry Warren | |
| Rep. Lee Zachary | |
| North Carolina Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee membership, 2020 cycle | |
|---|---|
| Name | Partisan affiliation |
| Sen. Warren Daniel (Chairman) | |
| Sen. Ralph Hise (Chairman) | |
| Sen. Paul Newton (Chairman) | |
| Sen. Dan Blue | |
| Sen. Ben Clark | |
| Sen. Don Davis | |
| Sen. Chuck Edwards | |
| Sen. Carl Ford | |
| Sen. Kathy Harrington | |
| Sen. Brent Jackson | |
| Sen. Joyce Krawiec | |
| Sen. Paul Lowe | |
| Sen. Natasha Marcus | |
| Sen. Wiley Nickel | |
| Sen. Jim Perry | |
| Sen. Bill Rabon | |
The House Redistricting Committee and Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee adopted redistricting criteria on August 12, 2021.[16]
Criteria Adopted by the Committees
The House Redistricting Committee and Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee released a redistricting criteria proposal on August 9, 2021.[17]
2021 JOINT REDISTRICTING COMMITTEE PROPOSED CRITERIA
On Oct. 20, 2021, the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee released a senate map proposal (SST-4).[18] On Oct. 22, the House Redistricting Committee released a house map proposal (HBK-11).[19]
On Oct. 20, 2021, the Senate Redistricting and Elections Committee released five congressional map proposals (CST-2, CMT-9, CBK-4, CBK-5, and CBK-3).[18] On Oct. 22, the House Redistricting Committee released a congressional map proposal (CBA-2).[19]
Apportionment is the process by which representation in a legislative body is distributed among its constituents. The number of seats in the United States House of Representatives is fixed at 435. The United States Constitution dictates that districts be redrawn every 10 years to ensure equal populations between districts. Every ten years, upon completion of the United States census, reapportionment occurs.[20]
The U.S. Census Bureau delivered apportionment counts on April 26, 2021. North Carolina was apportioned 14 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. This represented a net gain of one seat as compared to apportionment after the 2010 census.[21]
See the table below for additional details.
| 2020 and 2010 census information for North Carolina | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | 2010 census | 2020 census | 2010-2020 | ||||
| Population | U.S. House seats | Population | U.S. House seats | Raw change in population | Percentage change in population | Change in U.S. House seats | |
| North Carolina | 9,565,781 | 13 | 10,453,948 | 14 | 888,167 | 9.28% | 1 |
On February 12, 2021, the Census Bureau announced that it would deliver redistricting data to the states by September 30, 2021. On March 15, 2021, the Census Bureau released a statement indicating it would make redistricting data available to the states in a legacy format in mid-to-late August 2021. A legacy format presents the data in raw form, without data tables and other access tools. On May 25, 2021, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) announced that the state had reached a settlement agreement with the Census Bureau in its lawsuit over the Census Bureau's timetable for delivering redistricting data. Under the terms of the settlement, the Census Bureau agreed to deliver redistricting data, in a legacy format, by August 16, 2021.[22][23][24][25] The Census Bureau released the 2020 redistricting data in a legacy format on August 12, 2021, and in an easier-to-use format at data.census.gov on September 16, 2021.[26][27]
On Nov. 5, 2021, the plaintiffs in Harper v. Lewis, a 2019 case that resulted in North Carolina drawing new congressional maps before the 2020 election cycle, filed a supplemental complaint challenging the state's enacted congressional redistricting plan. The supplemental complaint was filed as part of the 2019 Harper v. Lewis case since the case was not closed.[28] The lawsuit alleges the map was an "intentional, extreme partisan gerrymander that dilutes Democratic votes and prevents Democratic voters from electing candidates of their choice." In their request for the relief, the plaintiffs asked the court to declare the 2016 and 2021 congressional maps unconstitutional, and to redraw the maps.[29]
On June 28, 2021, SB722 was signed into law, postponing elections in at least 35 North Carolina municipalities, including Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro, and Raleigh, due to the delayed release of census data.[30]
SB722 applies to "any municipality where there is an election of municipal officers scheduled for 2021 and where less than the entire jurisdiction is eligible to vote for candidates for one or more offices on the 2021 ballot." SB722 allows municipalities to conduct elections for at-large offices, such as mayors and citywide council members, as scheduled in 2021. SB722 also directs municipalities to "review and revise [their] electoral districts in accordance with state and federal law" once the U.S. Census Bureau releases raw 2020 block-level data in mid-August. In previous census cycles, the bureau delivered block-level data in the spring.[31]
Current mayors and city council members in affected jurisdictions will remain in office until their successors are elected in 2022. A full list of affected municipalities and a revised election schedule can be found here.
The bill (SB722) became law without Gov. Roy Cooper's (D) signature. Cooper said, "While delays to census data caused by the pandemic necessitate changes to local elections, decisions about local elections like these should involve more open discussion and public input, and therefore, these changes will become law without my signature."[32] The North Carolina House of Representatives unanimously approved SB722 on June 9. The North Carolina Senate approved the bill 33-14 on June 14. All votes opposed came from Democrats. Republicans control the chamber 28-22.[33]
This section includes background information on federal requirements for congressional redistricting, state legislative redistricting, state-based requirements, redistricting methods used in the 50 states, gerrymandering, and recent court decisions.
| What is redistricting and what does it entail? | |
|
| |
According to Article I, Section 4 of the United States Constitution, the states and their legislatures have primary authority in determining the "times, places, and manner" of congressional elections. Congress may also pass laws regulating congressional elections.[34][35]
| “ | The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by Law make or alter such Regulations, except as to the Places of chusing Senators.[36] | ” |
| —United States Constitution | ||
Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution stipulates that congressional representatives be apportioned to the states on the basis of population. There are 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives. Each state is allotted a portion of these seats based on the size of its population relative to the other states. Consequently, a state may gain seats in the House if its population grows or lose seats if its population decreases, relative to populations in other states. In 1964, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Wesberry v. Sanders that the populations of House districts must be equal "as nearly as practicable."[37][38][39]
The equal population requirement for congressional districts is strict. According to All About Redistricting, "Any district with more or fewer people than the average (also known as the 'ideal' population), must be specifically justified by a consistent state policy. And even consistent policies that cause a 1 percent spread from largest to smallest district will likely be unconstitutional."[39]
The United States Constitution is silent on the issue of state legislative redistricting. In the mid-1960s, the United States Supreme Court issued a series of rulings in an effort to clarify standards for state legislative redistricting. In Reynolds v. Sims, the court ruled that "the Equal Protection Clause [of the United States Constitution] demands no less than substantially equal state legislative representation for all citizens, of all places as well as of all races." According to All About Redistricting, "it has become accepted that a [redistricting] plan will be constitutionally suspect if the largest and smallest districts [within a state or jurisdiction] are more than 10 percent apart."[39]
In addition to the federal criteria noted above, individual states may impose additional requirements on redistricting. Common state-level redistricting criteria are listed below.
In general, a state's redistricting authority can be classified as one of the following:[41]
The term gerrymandering refers to the practice of drawing electoral district lines to favor one political party, individual, or constituency over another. When used in a rhetorical manner by opponents of a particular district map, the term has a negative connotation but does not necessarily address the legality of a challenged map. The term can also be used in legal documents; in this context, the term describes redistricting practices that violate federal or state laws.[42][43]
For additional background information about gerrymandering, click "[Show more]" below.
The phrase racial gerrymandering refers to the practice of drawing electoral district lines to dilute the voting power of racial minority groups. Federal law prohibits racial gerrymandering and establishes that, to combat this practice and to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act, states and jurisdictions can create majority-minority electoral districts. A majority-minority district is one in which a racial group or groups comprise a majority of the district's populations. Racial gerrymandering and majority-minority districts are discussed in greater detail in this article.[44]
The phrase partisan gerrymandering refers to the practice of drawing electoral district maps with the intention of favoring one political party over another. In contrast with racial gerrymandering, on which the Supreme Court of the United States has issued rulings in the past affirming that such practices violate federal law, the high court had not, as of November 2017, issued a ruling establishing clear precedent on the question of partisan gerrymandering. Although the court has granted in past cases that partisan gerrymandering can violate the United States Constitution, it has never adopted a standard for identifying or measuring partisan gerrymanders. Partisan gerrymandering is described in greater detail in this article.[45][46]The Supreme Court of the United States has, in recent years, issued several decisions dealing with redistricting policy, including rulings relating to the consideration of race in drawing district maps, the use of total population tallies in apportionment, and the constitutionality of independent redistricting commissions. The rulings in these cases, which originated in a variety of states, impact redistricting processes across the nation.
For additional background information about these cases, click "[Show more]" below.
In Gill v. Whitford, decided on June 18, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the plaintiffs—12 Wisconsin Democrats who alleged that Wisconsin's state legislative district plan had been subject to an unconstitutional gerrymander in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments—had failed to demonstrate standing under Article III of the United States Constitution to bring a complaint. The court's opinion, penned by Chief Justice John Roberts, did not address the broader question of whether partisan gerrymandering claims are justiciable and remanded the case to the district court for further proceedings. Roberts was joined in the majority opinion by Associate Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. Kagan penned a concurring opinion joined by Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas penned an opinion that concurred in part with the majority opinion and in the judgment, joined by Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch.[47]
In Cooper v. Harris, decided on May 22, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States affirmed the judgment of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, finding that two of North Carolina's congressional districts, the boundaries of which had been set following the 2010 United States Census, had been subject to an illegal racial gerrymander in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Justice Elena Kagan delivered the court's majority opinion, which was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor (Thomas also filed a separate concurring opinion). In the court's majority opinion, Kagan described the two-part analysis utilized by the high court when plaintiffs allege racial gerrymandering as follows: "First, the plaintiff must prove that 'race was the predominant factor motivating the legislature's decision to place a significant number of voters within or without a particular district.' ... Second, if racial considerations predominated over others, the design of the district must withstand strict scrutiny. The burden shifts to the State to prove that its race-based sorting of voters serves a 'compelling interest' and is 'narrowly tailored' to that end." In regard to the first part of the aforementioned analysis, Kagan went on to note that "a plaintiff succeeds at this stage even if the evidence reveals that a legislature elevated race to the predominant criterion in order to advance other goals, including political ones." Justice Samuel Alito delivered an opinion that concurred in part and dissented in part with the majority opinion. This opinion was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy.[48][49][50]
Evenwel v. Abbott was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2016. At issue was the constitutionality of state legislative districts in Texas. The plaintiffs, Sue Evenwel and Edward Pfenninger, argued that district populations ought to take into account only the number of registered or eligible voters residing within those districts as opposed to total population counts, which are generally used for redistricting purposes. Total population tallies include non-voting residents, such as immigrants residing in the country without legal permission, prisoners, and children. The plaintiffs alleged that this tabulation method dilutes the voting power of citizens residing in districts that are home to smaller concentrations of non-voting residents. The court ruled 8-0 on April 4, 2016, that a state or locality can use total population counts for redistricting purposes. The majority opinion was penned by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.[51][52][53][54]
Harris v. Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in 2016. At issue was the constitutionality of state legislative districts that were created by the commission in 2012. The plaintiffs, a group of Republican voters, alleged that "the commission diluted or inflated the votes of almost two million Arizona citizens when the commission intentionally and systematically overpopulated 16 Republican districts while under-populating 11 Democrat districts." This, the plaintiffs argued, constituted a partisan gerrymander. The plaintiffs claimed that the commission placed a disproportionately large number of non-minority voters in districts dominated by Republicans; meanwhile, the commission allegedly placed many minority voters in smaller districts that tended to vote Democratic. As a result, the plaintiffs argued, more voters overall were placed in districts favoring Republicans than in those favoring Democrats, thereby diluting the votes of citizens in the Republican-dominated districts. The defendants countered that the population deviations resulted from legally defensible efforts to comply with the Voting Rights Act and obtain approval from the United States Department of Justice. At the time of redistricting, certain states were required to obtain preclearance from the U.S. Department of Justice before adopting redistricting plans or making other changes to their election laws—a requirement struck down by the United States Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder (2013). On April 20, 2016, the court ruled unanimously that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that a partisan gerrymander had taken place. Instead, the court found that the commission had acted in good faith to comply with the Voting Rights Act. The court's majority opinion was penned by Justice Stephen Breyer.[55][56][57]
In 34 of the states that conducted legislative elections in 2020, the legislatures themselves will play a significant part in the subsequent redistricting process. The winner of eight of 2020's gubernatorial elections will have veto authority over state legislative or congressional district plans approved by legislatures. The party that won trifecta control of a state in which redistricting authority rests with the legislature will direct the process that produces the maps that will be used for the remainder of the decade. Trifecta shifts in the 2010 election cycle illustrate this point. In 2010, 12 states in which legislatures had authority over redistricting saw shifts in trifecta status. Prior to the 2010 elections, seven of these states were Democratic trifectas; the rest were divided governments. After the 2010 elections, seven of these states became Republican trifectas; the remainder either remained or became divided governments. The table below details these shifts and charts trifecta status heading into the 2020 election cycle.
| The 12 legislature-redistricting states that saw trifecta shifts in 2010 – subsequent trifecta status | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Primary redistricting authority | Pre-2010 trifecta status | Post-2010 trifecta status | Post-2018 trifecta status |
| Alabama | Legislature | Divided | Republican | Republican |
| Colorado | Congressional maps: legislature State legislative maps: politician commission |
Democratic | Divided | Democratic |
| Indiana | Legislature | Divided | Republican | Republican |
| Iowa | Legislature | Democratic | Divided | Republican |
| Maine | Legislature | Democratic | Republican | Democratic |
| Michigan | Legislature | Divided | Republican | Divided |
| New Hampshire | Legislature | Democratic | Divided | Divided |
| North Carolina | Legislature | Democratic | Divided | Divided |
| Ohio | Congressional maps: legislature State legislative maps: politician commission |
Divided | Republican | Republican |
| Oregon | Legislature | Democratic | Divided | Democratic |
| Pennsylvania | Congressional maps: legislature State legislative maps: politician commission |
Divided | Republican | Divided |
| Wisconsin | Legislature | Democratic | Republican | Divided |
North Carolina's congressional and state legislative district maps adopted in the aftermath of the 2010 census were subject to litigation. For more information, see this article.
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