A Redistricting Primer

What is redistricting?- Redistricting happens every ten years following the census.  It ensures that political units- Legislative and Congressional Districts; city council, school board, and county commissioner districts – all represents approximately the same number of people.
 
Why is redistricting important?- Redistricting sets the scene for government and politics for ten years.  It affects who runs for office, who gets elected and what happens.
 
How is redistricting done?-  With the exception of the US Congress, whose districts are drawn by state legislators, the districts are drawn by the office holders themselves.  Traditionally this has meant that the party in power has created districts to benefit itself and allow it to hold on to power. It is frequently called “Gerrymandering”
 
What is wrong with the way redistricting has been done?- Our traditional system of redistricting has allowed legislators to choose their constituents rather than allowing voters to choose their elected officials. In NC it has generated a record amount of court cases- the courts have had to intervene in redistricting in NC twenty four times in thirty years.
 
So what else can we do?- There are two other ways to do redistricting other than the traditional way. One is to have it done by an “independent” redistricting commission.  Unfortunately all too often the members of these “independent” commissions are partisan appointees so the result is no different from that of the traditional way.
 
One state, Iowa, uses professional staff to draw the districts using very strict criteria and guidelines. It then has a Citizens’ Commission which solicits input on the maps.  Then the Iowa General Assembly votes the districts up or down based on the strict criteria. The legislature has three chances to vote on staff written plans
 
The North Carolina House of Representatives has passed a, bill H824, based on the Iowa model. The bill had wide partisan support.  It passed the House by a vote of 88 to 27.
It is now before the NC Senate for review and a vote.
 
We urge you to learn more about the “Iowa” Model and let your NC Senator know you support this change.