NC legislature’s livestream of map drawing falls short of what’s needed for transparent redistricting process

RALEIGH – On Wednesday, members of the North Carolina legislature began drawing new congressional and legislative voting districts for the state. That map drawing is being livestreamed on the NC General Assembly’s website at NCleg.gov. However, improvements to the livestream are sorely needed to ensure the public can more clearly observe the map-drawing process.

The following statement is from Bob Phillips, executive director of Common Cause NC:

“So far, the redistricting live video stream falls short of the transparency and accessibility North Carolina needs. With just one overhead camera showing the committee room from an eye-straining distance and no user-facing camera at each workstation, it’s extremely difficult for North Carolinians watching online to see who is drawing maps and to clearly follow along in the process. 

We urge redistricting committee leaders in the House and Senate to work with legislative staff to improve the livestream experience. Those drawing maps should be identified on screen and their faces clearly seen, side by side with the maps they are drawing, and their voices clearly heard. 

The districts drawn over the coming days will impact all North Carolinians for a decade to come. In order to move toward the level of transparency that the people of our state deserve, improvements must be made to the legislature’s livestream to ensure the public can fully see and understand what’s happening as voting maps are created.”

Common Cause NC is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy.