The North Carolina General Assembly will have to redraw legislative maps before the 2020 elections, the Wake County Superior Court ruled last week.
The court ruled that the current legislative maps are the result of unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering and do not represent the “free will of the People.”
North Carolina is a purple state, so there should not be an overwhelming majority of one party or the other in the state legislature. But thanks to gerrymandered districts, this has not been the case. In 2018, despite receiving a majority of votes statewide, Democrats still won fewer seats in the General Assembly. Even a media and journalism major knows that that math doesn’t add up.
The decision is especially significant considering Democrats broke the supermajority in the General Assembly in the 2018 midterm elections. If the maps are redrawn fairly, Democrats could potentially pick up more seats in 2020 and come closer to gaining control of the N.C. legislature.
Freer and fairer elections are a win for us all — they are the lifeblood of a healthy democracy. From voter ID laws to gerrymandering, Republicans in North Carolina have worked tirelessly to subvert and suppress the will of the people through every means possible. Their power has manifested in their ability to block any attempt by Democrats to implement progressive policies such as Medicaid expansion and automatic voter registration.
As all three unconstitutionally drawn maps fall, voter apathy should follow suit. We finally have a chance to see real change in a state that for so long has placed its citizens in an ink blot, rather than a representative district. We can’t let this win be met with low voter turn out and disinterest in local politics. Our votes matter now, more than ever.
This does not mean the fight to improve our state or strengthen our democracy is over. Republicans still benefit from gerrymandered maps across the country, and even though they are not appealing the court decision, the fight for fair elections has to continue.
We love North Carolina. We are proud to go to school here. Moreover, we love having our voices heard and our votes matter — thankfully, this is becoming a possibility. People that have long been promised and routinely denied enfranchisement will, hopefully, be able to cast a meaningful ballot. And we will be alongside them at the polling place.
