Citizens From Across State Voice Opinions At Redistricting Public Hearing In Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. – On Wednesday, Sep. 27, the North Carolina General Assembly redistricting committees held a public hearing in Raleigh. People from across the state came to voice their opinions. The hearing in Raleigh was one of only three planned by the Legislature for the entire state, with the others in Elizabeth City and Hickory.

In April 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court, under a new GOP majority, struck down the district maps used in last year’s elections – maps that created a more even playing field between Democrats and Republicans.

Many speakers at the hearing expressed their bewilderment over the state’s frequent and nontransparent redistricting. Including the one now in development, North Carolina has had six different redistricting plans in six years. A proposed solution readily mentioned at the hearing was an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission. One speaker suggested multi-member, proportionally-elected districts.

Spectacular Magazine’s Phyllis Coley and Lawrence Davis took to the podium. Said Coley, “Right now, voters are confused. We don’t know the process. The timing of this process is suspect. You’re holding three hearings for the entire state – that’s also suspect.”

Some statements were more combative. A speaker from Harnett County called members of the General Assembly “very, very, very weak men” who “need to show strength and confidence in [their] manhood by drawing districts that will offer [them] a challenge.” Another speaker likened legislators to the perpetrators of the 1898 Wilmington massacre and then paraphrased Malcolm X: “If I don’t have a ballot, I have a bullet.” 

One speaker, a high school student, said, “We can’t trust them [the legislature]…All they care about are three simple things: reelection, power, and dollar signs…Young people like me are watching, and young people like me are fed up.” 

Race-based gerrymandering was a dominant concern among speakers, especially in light of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Black, Asian, and Hispanic speakers urged the General Assembly to keep their communities in mind when drawing the new maps. In 2021, a United Nations special rapporteur remarked after touring the United States, “It is becoming unfortunately apparent that it is almost a tyranny of the majority where the minority right to vote is being denied in many areas.” Speaker Karen Zigler told Spectacular Magazine, “This body [the legislature] is the result of extreme partisan gerrymandering.”

Speakers also demanded more transparency from their legislators, including more numerous and more accessible hearings. Provisions of the new state budget relating to public records have proven controversial. 

Spectacular Magazine was able to speak briefly with Representative Vernetta Alston (D-Durham) before the hearing. On the recently passed budget, she says, “I think it’s a bad budget…we missed an opportunity to really support the vast majority of North Carolinians.” On the impact of redistricting on her constituents, Alston says, “We’ll see what the process looks like…folks in Durham want the process to be fair.” 

Lastly, speaker Karen Harris shares her wish with Spectacular Magazine: “…for them [the legislature] to have more hearings, to have fair maps, and for every eligible North Carolinian to have an opportunity to vote.”

Click here to see current and former district maps in North Carolina, and click here to watch footage of the redistricting hearing.