AOTL: New North Carolina Congressional District Should Be Drawn in Wake County

For Immediate Release:
April 26, 2021
Contact:
Molly Mitchell
mitchell@redistrictingaction.org

AOTL: New North Carolina Congressional District
Should Be Drawn in Wake County

A Fair Map in the Research Triangle Allows for Competition

Today, the Census Bureau released apportionment data based on the 2020 census count that determines the number of seats each state in the country has in the United States House of Representatives. Based on this new data, North Carolina will now have 14 congressional members, an increase of one seat over the past decade. As recent election results have shown, North Carolina is an evenly divided state, and it’s time for a congressional district map to match that reality by giving the people of the state an opportunity to elect a congressional delegation that accurately reflects that fact. Either party should be able to win half of the congressional seats in a good year, given a fair, competitive map.

“All On The Line (AOTL) strongly believes that North Carolina’s new congressional district should be located in or around Wake County due to the area’s rapid population growth. Drawing a new competitive district in the Research Triangle area would create the possibility of greater partisan balance in the congressional delegation. Politicians in Raleigh should stop protecting their own political parties and interests and draw a map that gives power back to the people. That means drawing a map that creates swing districts where appropriate to reflect the political make-up of the state and which finally gives voters the opportunity to select a delegation that is evenly split between the two parties,” said Lekha Shupeck, AOTL North Carolina State Director. 

“For the better part of the last decade, self-serving politicians in the legislature have forced North Carolinians to vote in some of the most gerrymandered districts in the country. Time and time again, manipulated maps have given one party out-sized power in our congressional delegation, even if they did not win more votes. As we come closer to the start of the redistricting process in North Carolina, AOTL will do everything in our power to ensure that this process is fair and transparent and results in a map where both parties have to compete to win the support of the voters,” continued Shupeck.

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