North Carolina Begins Redistricting Process

NASW-NC will continue to provide information as the state's redistricting process rolls out. For more information, or for questions, please contact Kay Castillo, kcastillo.naswnc@socialworkers.org. 

Redistricting is the process of redrawing election boundary lines to maintain proportionate numbers of voters between districts based on population changes. Jurisdictions that hold district-based elections, like North Carolina, are required to update the boundaries periodically to ensure all votes count the same and the playing field for elections is equal. This occurs every ten years (after a Census) and, given the consistent population growth in the state, it is crucial to update these boundaries so that every vote counts!

North Carolina’s redistricting process allows for public comments before the maps are drawn and participation in public hearings. They have scheduled public hearings in 10 different counties throughout the month of September, beginning Wednesday, September 8^th.

The schedule for the first few meetings will be:

Wednesday, September 8th at 6:00 pm - Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute

Tuesday, September 14th 

Forsyth Technical Community College at 4:00 pm

Elizabeth City State University at 5:00 pm

Wednesday, September 15th 

Durham Technical Community at 6:00 pm

Nash Community College at 5:00 pm

Thursday, September 16th

Alamance Community College at 5:00 pm

Pitt Community College at 3:00 pm

Ways to Get Involved:

• Provide comments through the 2021 Redistricting Public Comments Portal.
• Join the hearings: dates, times, and locations for hearings can be found on the NC General Assembly Website.
• Members of the public may sign up to speak on site beginning one hour prior to the start of the hearing.
• Members of the public may also sign up online to speak at the public hearing. Online sign up will close 4 hours prior to the start of the public hearing.
• Please join NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina and All on the Line North Carolina Wednesday, September 8th, from 6:00pm-7:30pm for a webinar to learnhow gerrymandered voting maps impact reproductive freedom in North Carolina and what actions we can take.

More Resources:

• Information about each hearing and how to sign up for the public hearings will be posted on the NC General Assembly Website.
• You may subscribe to be alerted of meeting notices via email and view previous hearings after they’ve been uploaded at the link above.
• Learn more about redistricting by listening to this 34-minute Democracy Matters podcast on why redistricting is important with David Wasserman (Aug 26, 2021).