Common Cause NC presents Plott Hound Courage Award to Rep. McGrady for his leadership on redistricting reform

Common Cause NC on Friday presented Rep. Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson) with its Plott Hound Courage Award for his leadership on pushing for nonpartisan redistricting reform.

McGrady is one of the chief sponsors of House Bill 200, which would establish a system of drawing North Carolina’s voting maps free from partisan politics.

“Representative McGrady has been a consistent and steady champion of fair redistricting,” said Brent Laurenz with Common Cause NC. “Thanks to his leadership, House Bill 200 has 39 bipartisan co-sponsors in the North Carolina House, a clear sign of its broad support in that chamber.”

Laurenz presented the award to McGrady during a meeting at the Historic Courthouse in Hendersonville to give residents an update on the effort to pass nonpartisan redistricting through the legislature.

House Bill 200 would end gerrymandering by taking redistricting power away from partisan legislators and instead give it to nonpartisan legislative staff. That independent staff would be required to follow strict, nonpartisan guidelines when drawing voting districts, without any input from legislators.

An overwhelming majority of North Carolina voters also support independent redistricting, as shown by a Public Policy Polling survey commissioned by Democracy North Carolina last month. According to the poll’s results, 80 percent of voters say it’s not fair for politicians to draw their own districts. That includes 85 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans and 80 percent of independent voters.