RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina lawmakers came back from the drawing board on Thursday night.
They approved new maps for U.S. House districts, the state Senate districts and the state House districts. The State Supreme Court ordered them to redraw the maps after submitting maps in November 2021. The court majority ruled the initial maps were unconstitutional gerrymanders. State lawmakers had until Friday, Feb. 18 to submit new maps.
This is the submitted map for U.S. House districts.
North Carolina picked up a 14th U.S. House seat after results of the 2020 Census showed significant population growth. District maps across the country are redrawn every ten years to take census data into account.
The 14th district will sit in the southern part of the state, making up all of Cleveland County, Gaston County and parts of Rutherford and Mecklenburg Counties.
Here's a look at the map used for the 2020 election. Districts in the Piedmont Triad saw significant changes.
Here's a list of differences between the old map and the new map:
- Guilford County used to be one district, lumped in with Winston-Salem. The new map split Guilford County into two districts. Greensboro remains in District 6, currently represented by Democrat Kathy Manning, who intends to run for reelection. The district now includes several other areas. That includes Chatham, Lee and Harnett Counties as well as a small portion of Rockingham and Alamance Counties.
- The west side of Guilford County is now in District 8, currently represented by Republican Richard Hudson. This iteration of District 8 now includes north Davidson County, Rowan and Cabarrus Counties.
- District 5 now includes all of Forsyth County. That was not the case in 2020. District 5 is currently represented by Republican Virginia Foxx, who intends to run for reelection. Other areas in the district include Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Alleghany, Wilkes, Ashe and Watauga Counties.
- Alamance County is no longer in District 13, currently represented by Republican Ted Budd, who is running for U.S. Senate in 2022. District 13 is now made up of parts of Wake County, Johnston, Wayne, Sampson and Duplin Counties.
- The new map put Alamance county in District 4, currently represented by Democrat David Price. Price has said he will not run for reelection and will retire.
State lawmakers also approved new maps for state House and state Senate districts.
This is the state House district map.
This is the state Senate district map.
State lawmakers passed their initial redistricting plan in November 2021. Democrats argued the maps, approved by the Republican-controlled legislature, were extreme partisan gerrymanders. A lawsuit against the maps made it to the State Supreme Court, where the justices ruled 4-3, along party lines, that the maps were unconstitutional.
The court ordered lawmakers to submit a new plan by February 18. The court would give final approval by February 23. The court's majority maintained a commitment to keep North Carolina's primary in May. State Republican lawmakers passed a bill in January to push the primary date to June. Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, vetoed the bill.
The redistricting process isn't over yet. The State Supreme Court has until February 23 to accept or reject the new maps.