August 12, 2021
With the Census Bureau set to release official Census data to states this afternoon, the North Carolina House and Senate Redistricting Committees met jointly this morning to approve criteria to redraw congressional and state legislative district lines.
Earlier this week, House and Senate Redistricting Committee Co-Chairs revealed a set of criteria for legislators to use when redrawing district maps. Members of the public were invited to speak on the proposed criteria on Tuesday, and committee members offered amendments today to propose changes or additions to the criteria. The proposed criteria emphasizes that racial and partisan data, along with past election data, may not be used to redraw political maps. However, lawmakers can consider where an existing member of the legislature or U.S. Congress lives to avoid double-bunking elected officials. Committee Co-Chairs reiterated that the proposed criteria were very similar to the rules used in 2019 when legislators were court-ordered to redraw district maps due to partisan gerrymandering, and continued to highlight the need for transparency and bipartisanship throughout the process.
The House and Senate Committees adopted one Republican amendment, while only one Democratic amendment was adopted out of the 13 amendments introduced. Republican Senator Warren Daniel’s (Senate Committee Co-Chair) approved amendment included an addition to the “Racial Data” criterion to clarify that the committee will draw districts that comply with the Voting Rights Act. Democratic Senator Ben Clark’s approved amendment adds to the “Contiguity” criterion to include language stating that point contiguity will not be permitted, meaning that districts must be connected by more than a single point. The 11 failed amendments from Democrats mostly centered around prohibiting partisan advantage, ensuring that racial data is considered when analyzing maps after they are created, and prioritizing certain criteria when redrawing maps. The “Community Consideration” criterion was also debated, and an amendment was voted down that would ensure that reasonable efforts were made to preserve communities of interest when drawing district lines. Although many members of the public have expressed concern with the ambiguity of this rule, Committee Co-Chairs argued that the criterion as written sufficiently protected communities of interest.
Committee Co-Chairs confirmed that legislative staff will receive the Census data this afternoon and will begin processing the data for use over the next few weeks. Next week, the committees plan to meet jointly to develop a public hearing schedule for the redistricting process. In the meantime, members of the public are invited to submit public comment through the NCGA’s online portal.