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Redistricting

Every ten years, following the Census, the State legislature must draw new districts for state House, state Senate and congressional districts.  Both LWVUS and LWVNC have positions about the redistricting or apportionment process.  

The NC League supports legislative efforts to make the redistricting process more equitable by establishing an independent agency responsible for periodic reapportionment and redistricting. The 2011 legislative session is taking up this issue.

LWVNC President Jo Nicholas speaks at the July 7th redistricting hearing -- read her testimony and the press release!

Resources and Tools

• Redistricting Glossary (from National Conference of State Legislatures)
• Redistricting Criteria (from NC Center for Voter Education)
• NC Redistricting Coalition Goals (from North Carolinians for Redistricting Reform)
• NC General Assembly - Redistricting Public Hearing Information and Sites
• NC General Assembly - Senate Redistricting Committee Members
• NC General Assembly - House Redistricting Committee Members

LWVUS has compiled these resources and more on their website:

Reading Resources:

• Community Census & Redistricting Institute - Go to State resources then North Carolina for lots of information, links and references, including at the county level
• Democracy NC’s redistricting page has links to many valuable resources.
• The Brennan Center’s newly updated A Citizen’s Guide to Redistricting, available for free download here, provides an excellent refresher course for beginners as well as experts, and includes helpful state-specific information on all things redistricting.
• The National Conference of State Legislators has made many materials available online. Visit their dedicated redistricting web page to see what legislators and other key stakeholders are saying and reading as they prepare for the redistricting process.
• NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s comprehensive guide, The Impact of Redistricting in Your Community, provides easy-to-understand information about the importance of public input in the redistricting process, with a special emphasis on why the involvement of the minority community is so critical.  Published in conjunction with the Asian American Justice Center and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. 
• The Election Process: Apportionment (LWV)
• History of Apportionment and Position (LWV)
• Report from the LWV Developing an Action Agenda for Redistricting in 2011
• General Assembly Redistricting Website
• Dr. Kareen Crayton's Online Redistricting Game

Tools to Use:

• Sample Redistricting Transparency Legislation, available here from the Campaign Legal Center, provides useful guidance and sample language for Leagues interested in advocating for more open redistricting processes in their states.
• U.S. Census Bureau Reapportionment Data will be available for all states in early 2011. Visit the Census Bureau redistricting page here to learn more about the data that will be used to draw legislative districts in your state.
• Public Mapping Project, a site sponsored by George Mason University and other key stakeholders, provides a range of resources including up-to-date summaries of the redistricting landscape in key states as well as information about the District Builder software, now available in prototype form to nonprofits and the media. 
• "Gerrymandering," a movie that is garnering a great deal of attention among activists, lawmakers, and citizens, is now being screened in theaters nationwide.  Visit the movie website for a schedule of past and upcoming screenings. If you are interested in organizing a special public screening in your state, please contact the filmmakers (contact@greenfilmcompany.com) or you may also contact Brent Laurenz at 877-258-6837 or laurenz@nccve.org for more information on showing the movie in your area in NC. When organizing your event, be sure to alert the local media that League experts will be on-hand to discuss the importance of a transparent redistricting process!
• How to Draw Redistricting Plans that will Stand up in Court, a comprehensive “how-to” planning tool developed by Peter S. Wattson, Minnesota Senate Staff Counsel, will help legislators and advocates alike as they begin to navigate the complexities of Census data in the coming weeks. 

The League is a partner in the coalition, North Carolinians for Redistricting Reform. This nonpartisan coalition of organizations supports a redistricting model that removes line-drawing power from the legislature and rests that power with an independent body. The coalition believes that the redistricting process needs to be open and transparent. The process must include significant public input in the process with the opportunity for citizens to weigh in on proposed legislative maps.

Read LWVNC President Balogh's letter on redistricting to State Senator Bob Rucho!

Forum planned for Charlotte as voter redistricting draws near

The League of Women Voters Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Democracy North Carolina are sponsoring a public forum on upcoming voter redistricting and how it can affect residents of Charlotte. Scheduled panel members include North Carolina legislator Senator [Read more . . . ]

Grants are available for local Leagues - LWVNC is funding local League efforts in voter protection and redistricting. The deadline for the 1-page application is March 1. Detailed instructions and a submittal form are in the Members Only "Grants" page.