League of Women Voters Announces Key Redistricting Developments

North Carolina Challenge Goes to Court; Affected Hundreds of Voters in 2012

June 12 Media Call to Provide Exclusive Analysis of Inaugural CA Redistricting Commission

Washington, DC—The League of Women Voters is offering opportunities for media to learn more about key redistricting advancements in North Carolina and California and discuss the implications both will have on future elections.

North Carolina Redistricting Suit in Court This Week

With a key redistricting legal challenge being argued in  Raleigh this week, League of Women Voters of North Carolina (LWVNC) and co-plaintiffs have offered clear evidence that the state’s 2011 redistricting plan directly contributed to voter confusion and unconstitutionally segregated voters by race on Election Day 2012. Post-election analysis conducted by the nonpartisan Southern Coalition for Social Justice shows that the 2011 redistricting plan placed one in four North Carolina voters into “split precincts”, leading to widespread confusion and hundreds of voters assigned to the wrong districts receiving the wrong ballots on Election Day 2012. Those living in minority communities were particularly hard-hit. The plaintiffs are asking the Court to instruct the state legislature to develop a more representative plan. 

“The League has said from day one that this hyper-partisan redistricting map was intentionally designed to maximize partisan control at the expense of voters’ needs and limit the influence of minority voters,” said LWVNC president Jo Nicholas. “This redistricting plan was intended to cause harm to voters, and it did.”

Contact Kelly Ceballos ([email protected]) for further information about the North Carolina trial.

June 12 Media Teleconference: New Report Examines Outcomes of California Citizens Redistricting Commission and Identifies Future Recommendations

Join researchers, redistricting commissioners and civic leaders as they share a new League of Women Voters and James Irvine Foundation report that examines the first-ever California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC), shares new public opinion data and provides recommendations for future commissions.