Why do Democrats win half the votes in NC state-wide elections while Republicans have a supermajority in the state legislature and are positioned to regain control of the state’s Congressional delegation in 2024?
Intense partisanship has resulted in gerrymandered voting districts that weaken our democracy and election results by:
Suppressing the vote in communities of color and pockets of opposition; leading to voter apathy and weakened political involvement.
Producing Legislative majorities (or even supermajorities) that discourage compromise, negotiation and:
Undermine Constitutional checks and balances (e. g. weakening Governors’ veto authority, and judicial review of election challenges)
Thwart key initiatives that ignore voters’ views and needs (e. g. gun control, abortion, health care expansion)
Threaten expulsion, censure, and investigations of opposition members who hold differing policy views.
The stakes are high in every election: the NC redistricting process after the 2030 Census and beyond needs to be truly representative of the voters. Federal and North Carolina court decisions have limited the ability of courts to remedy unfair voting districts. Also, Republicans in Congress are unwilling to support election reform legislation.
The best path for pro-Democracy forces is for grassroots organizing to:
- Short term: use your voice on social media, in your community and lobbying your legislators to shine a light on how unfair maps put partisan power politics over people’s needs and contribute to the loss of our rights, resources and representation.
***AND join Indivisible CLT and All On the Line for our upcoming event to help with this in our community!
- Mid term: engage the electorate by running strong candidates for all critical offices, and by sponsoring robust voter education, registration and turnout operations.
- Long term: advocate for an independent redistricting commission in North Carolina. Senate Bill 642, which was introduced this year by Democrat Val Applewhite, would establish an independent redistricting commission according to best practices learned from other states.
Interested in learning more details of redistricting and gerrymandering? See the full briefing here.
(ICLT member, Marshal Auron, has pulled together this amazing brief to shine light on this critical topic! Thanks, Marshal!)