Mother Jones: North Carolina’s Rigged Maps Are a Warning for the Nation

Once again, North Carolina is ground zero for a national power grab. According to new reporting from Mother Jones, Republican leaders in the General Assembly have pushed through yet another gerrymandered congressional map—this one drawn to appease Donald Trump and lock in partisan control at the expense of voters.

The new lines dismantle Congressional District 1, North Carolina’s historic Black Belt district, by removing majority-Black counties and replacing them with majority-white areas more favorable to Trump. The goal is clear: to eliminate the seat of Rep. Don Davis, one of the few Black Democrats representing our state in Congress.

This is not democracy. It is a deliberate effort to silence communities of color, dilute Black political power, and rig the system for partisan gain.

“Instead of nibbling at the margins of participation, today’s strategies are about cheating outright,” said Melissa Price Kromm, Executive Director of NC For The People Action.

For more than a decade, North Carolina has been the testing ground for anti-democratic tactics—racially gerrymandered maps, power-grabs over election boards, and mid-decade redraws that punish voters for how they vote. Each time, lawmakers promise “fairness.” Each time, voters lose more ground.

This latest gerrymander is especially alarming because it comes amid national attacks on the Voting Rights Act. The Supreme Court is currently considering a case that could strip away the last remaining federal protections against racial gerrymandering—jeopardizing majority-minority districts across the country. North Carolina’s map shows exactly what that post-VRA future would look like: a democracy where politicians, not voters, choose who wins.

NC For The People Action stands with the advocates, lawmakers, and everyday voters demanding that this manipulation end once and for all. Fair maps and accountable leadership are not partisan goals—they’re the foundation of a functioning democracy.

Read the full Mother Jones report here:

Republicans Are Making One of the Most Gerrymandered States in the Nation Even More Rigged