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Hundreds of North Carolinians turned out over the weekend to run a jagged race around downtown Raleigh [2] 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