Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. But when the system is repeatedly rigged to favor one side, that right quickly erodes.
On October 13, North Carolina Republican leaders announced plans to vote on new U.S. House maps. House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Caldwell), Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Rockingham), and House Redistricting Chairs Brenden Jones (R-Columbus) and Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke) openly stated that they are acting on instructions from the President, aiming to maintain Republican control of the U.S. House in 2026. They claim Trump’s state win gives them a mandate to further manipulate an already unfair district map. If this new map is passed, it will be harder for voters to hold their representatives accountable, especially now that changing policies, like federal Medicaid cuts, are hurting many North Carolinians.
This recent decision isn’t a one-time power grab. It is part of a years-long strategy to entrench partisan control through redistricting. As Senator Phil Berger posted on X on September 25, “We have drawn four Congressional maps in the last six years in redistricting fights with Democrats… If we have to draw one more map this year, we will.” Framing this as a partisan standoff is misleading. Let’s be clear: North Carolina maps have been repeatedly redrawn because courts found earlier versions violated constitutional protections against partisan and racial gerrymandering.
You might have heard that our state has some of the most unfair Congressional maps in the country. What does that really mean? In North Carolina, Republican leaders have made a habit of manipulating district maps to make Congressional races less competitive. This tactic, known as gerrymandering, involves strategically drawing district lines to favor one party. One method of gerrymandering, called “cracking and packing,” involves diluting opposition votes across multiple districts and/or concentrating them into a single district to limit their influence. In 2022, North Carolina had a balanced 7-7 party split for the state’s 14 U.S. House seats. In 2024, after the adoption of a controversial new map, the state’s representation shifted dramatically to Republicans occupying 10 of 14 seats. Now, NC Republican leaders are targeting the state’s last remaining swing district with their proposed map, the 1st Congressional District (CD1) in the historic Black Belt, to undermine the freedom to vote and suppress Black voters.
A vast majority of North Carolina voters reject the practice of gerrymandering, with 84 percent stating that it is never acceptable for politicians to manipulate district boundaries to benefit their own party. This opposition spans all political affiliations, including 78 percent of Republicans, 87 percent of Democrats, and 85 percent of unaffiliated voters. 82 percent of voters also recognize the importance of judicial oversight in preventing racial discrimination in electoral maps, which is crucial given ongoing and past litigation. The case North Carolina NAACP v. Berger, recently consolidated with Williams v. Hall, will decide whether the state’s three electoral maps violate the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965, due to possible racial discrimination against Black voters. This comes amid a federal court rejecting Jefferson Griffin’s baseless attempt to challenge the election of Allison Riggs to the NC Supreme Court in 2024—a major victory powered by voters’ organizing and advocacy.
There is an alternative to these unfair maps, and we can look to our own state not too long ago for inspiration. In 2022, NC Supreme Court intervention prevented the use of gerrymandered maps and resulted in more competitive, fair elections in the midterms. Another option is the establishment of a bipartisan citizens commission to draw fair voting maps, which is supported by 70 percent of North Carolina voters. Such reforms would help ensure courts and voters, not politicians taking orders from partisan leaders, determine fair representation.
At the ACLU-NC, we work in the legislature, courts, and communities to protect North Carolinians’ civil rights and liberties, including your right to vote in fair elections. While Senator Berger and Speaker Hall take orders from President Trump, we answer to North Carolinians because we are all CD1, united in the fight for fair representation. It is crucial that your North Carolina General Assembly members vote against redistricting before the 2026 elections. Take action now by calling, texting, using social media, and showing up in person to urge them to stand against these efforts to rig our elections.