Associated Press: Population growth gives North Carolina a 14th US House seat

04.26.2021 / By GARY D. ROBERTSON
Associated Press: Population growth gives North Carolina a 14th US House seat

“In order to avoid illegal map-rigging, the redistricting process in 2021 must be transparent, nonpartisan and include robust public input — and be completely free from gerrymandering,” Common Cause North Carolina Executive Director Bob Phillips said in a news release after Monday’s announcement. Common Cause was a plaintiff in both federal and state partisan gerrymandering lawsuits in the 2010s.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina will gain another seat in Congress for the next 10 years, the U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday, the result of a steadily growing population as people arrive for jobs and retirement.

The additional U.S. House seat, the 14th for North Carolina, marks the third time in the past four census cycles that the state will have increased the size of its congressional delegation. North Carolina received a 12th seat after the 1990 census and another after the 2000 release. …

Redistricting maps aren’t subject to a veto by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. But any map approved by the legislature is likely to be challenged in court by Democrats or allied groups, whether on partisan or racial grounds.

“In order to avoid illegal map-rigging, the redistricting process in 2021 must be transparent, nonpartisan and include robust public input — and be completely free from gerrymandering,” Common Cause North Carolina Executive Director Bob Phillips said in a news release after Monday’s announcement. Common Cause was a plaintiff in both federal and state partisan gerrymandering lawsuits in the 2010s.

See More: Abuse of PowerCensusGerrymandering/Redistricting