The Political Situation in North Carolina — And How It’s About to Change
“What’s going on in North Carolina?”
That’s the question people in our state keep getting from friends who live elsewhere.
We all have our own answer. Mine is simple: Gerrymandering.
In the North Carolina state legislature, Republicans have supermajorities in both the state House (74–46) and state Senate (35–15). With those numbers, they can pass any bill and override any veto. They are in total control of the legislative process.
How did they obtain these supermajorities? It wasn’t overwhelming popularity. In 2010, the GOP captured majorities in both chambers, putting them in charge of the redistricting process. The extreme gerrymandering they conducted found the theoretical limits of just how many Republicans could be packed into the state legislature.
They’re pretty open about what they did. As the Co-Chairman of the Redistricting Committee stated, “I think electing Republicans is better than electing Democrats. So I drew this map in a way to help foster what I think is better for the country.”
As a result, the GOP now has an artificial legislative monopoly in our state. As you know, this has led to a slew of far-right bills that have brought our state considerable negative attention, most prominently including HB2.
The Opportunity in 2017
But there’s a crack in the wall. A federal court has ordered a new round of redistricting due to the unconstitutional manner in which the GOP used race the last time they drew the districts. The court has also ordered that new elections must be held for all new districts in November 2017 — creating an off-year, special election.
The new districts will be unveiled on March 15th. While not every district in the state must be redrawn, almost every district near a major city will be. And despite the fact that the same folks who drew the maps last time will be allowed to draw the maps this time, the result will almost certainly be a significant increase in the number of competitive seats. The only question is whether we can get folks to go vote in a special election.
So here’s the opportunity: Use the 2017 special election to break the supermajority in at least one of two chambers. If we can do that, we will be able to sustain Gov. Cooper’s vetoes, and that will completely change the political landscape by putting a crucial check on the absolute power currently held by the GOP.
There’s a new effort to focus our political strategy on achieving that goal — it’s called the 2017 Gameplan, and we’d love to have you join us.
So, what’s going on in North Carolina?
Something big. Come be a part of it.
