Constitutional Amendment Against Gerrymandering in North Carolina

I urge you to work across party lines in the next legislative session to advance a constitutional amendment establishing an independent citizens redistricting commission and put it before North Carolina voters in 2028. The Fair Maps Act (SB 804) offers a practical starting point: a 15-member commission with five Republicans, five Democrats, and five unaffiliated members. Public hearings, meaningful public input, and cross-party approval would make mapmaking more transparent and help ensure districts reflect communities rather than politicians’ electoral interests. The proposal has bipartisan precedent. Senator Bradley filed SB 804 in 2026, and during the 2009–10 General Assembly, Republicans Tim Moore, Phil Berger, and Sarah Stevens supported legislation to create a citizens’ redistricting commission. North Carolina’s experience makes reform urgent. District maps have repeatedly changed through legislative action and court intervention. In 2025, lawmakers enacted a new congressional map for the 2026 elections, a mid-decade change intended to alter the state’s congressional balance. Repeated mapmaking undermines public confidence and leaves voters wondering whether they choose their representatives or representatives choose their voters. A constitutional amendment can establish durable standards for equal population, contiguity, respect for communities and applicable law, public proceedings, and bipartisan agreement. No system will eliminate every dispute, but an independent, balanced process can reduce conflicts of interest and make mapmaking more accountable. Please work with members of both parties, election experts, and communities across the state to refine the proposal and give voters the opportunity to decide in 2028. This is not about securing a partisan advantage. It is about protecting every North Carolinian’s voice, regardless of party or address. I ask you to lead this effort and publicly support placing a carefully drafted Fair Maps constitutional amendment on the 2028 ballot.