Hundreds of North Carolinians turned out over the weekend to run a jagged race around downtown Raleigh in an effort to raise awareness about gerrymandering. It’s an issue that has plagued the state for years. Here are some numbers to provide further context:
7 — the number of redistricting bills that have been filed this decade in the General Assembly calling for an independent redistricting commission or impartial process blind of political consideration
0 — the number of times a redistricting bill has been heard in a House or Senate committee under House Speaker Tim Moore’s and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger’s respective reigns
4 — the number of times Moore sponsored redistricting reform while a member of the minority party
5 — the number of times Berger sponsored redistricting reform while a member of the minority party
2 — the number of times Sen. Thom Tillis sponsored redistricting reform while serving in the North Carolina General Assembly
1 — the number of times a legislative chamber has passed a bipartisan redistricting reform bill (in 2011, Moore and Tillis —who was speaker at the time — voted for it)
2018 — the first year a federal court in North Carolina found partisan gerrymandering unconstitutional (Common Cause v. Rucho/League of Women Voters v. Rucho)
2 — the number of times a federal court has found partisan gerrymandering unconstitutional (in Wisconsin and North Carolina)
4 — the number of times (including this year’s election cycle) that North Carolinians have voted in congressional elections with maps deemed unconstitutional by the courts
90 — the percentage of legislative districts that were uncontested or decided by a double-digit margin in 2016
0 — the number of competitive North Carolina congressional races in the 2016 election (every contest was decided by a double-digit margin)
0 — the number of competitive North Carolina congressional races in the 2014 election
30+ — the number of times courts have intervened in North Carolina redistricting since 1980
0 — the number of redistricting lawsuits in Iowa since the state adopted redistricting reform
2 — the number of U.S. presidents who have advocated for redistricting reform (Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama)
Source: Common Cause North Carolina
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