The survey findings come as the top Republican in the NC Senate says he may attempt to gerrymander the state’s congressional maps even more extremely in order to rig the 2026 election – a move likely to prove deeply unpopular with voters

RALEIGH, NC – North Carolina voters overwhelmingly oppose gerrymandering of congressional and legislative electoral districts and want a bipartisan citizens commission to draw voting maps instead of legislators, according to a new survey conducted by a Republican-leaning polling firm.

The public opinion findings coincidentally come as the Republican leader of the NC Senate, Sen. Phil Berger of Rockingham County, says he might attempt to further gerrymander the state’s already extremely gerrymandered congressional districts in order to give GOP candidates an unfair advantage in the 2026 election.

Based on the poll’s findings, such a move by Berger and the Republican-controlled legislature likely would be deeply unpopular among North Carolinians.

In fact, 84% of North Carolina voters say it’s never acceptable for politicians to draw districts to help their own party win more seats, no matter the circumstances. That opposition holds across party lines, including 78% of Republicans, 87% of Democrats and 85% of unaffiliated voters.

A strong majority of voters – 70% – support the establishment of a bipartisan citizens commission to draw fair voting maps for North Carolina, while 17% are unsure. Just 12% of voters prefer keeping the current system with legislators drawing the maps.

The survey was conducted by Opinion Diagnostics, a polling firm that provides research for a variety of Republican politicians as well as non-political entities. The poll was commissioned by the nonpartisan voting rights group Common Cause North Carolina.

“North Carolinians are tired of politicians rigging our voting maps,” said Bob Phillips, Executive Director of Common Cause North Carolina. “As we see in this survey, voters want no gerrymandering, not more. Senator Berger should take note and drop any attempt to engage in yet more map-rigging, even if pressured by Washington, D.C., politicians to further manipulate North Carolina’s districts.”

Other key findings in the poll: voters want courts to protect against gerrymandering

Voters want courts to guard against gerrymandering, with 82% saying it’s important for judges to protect against racial discrimination in how electoral maps are drawn – including 66% of Republicans, 93% of Democrats and 85% of unaffiliated voters, as well as 81% of white voters and 93% of Black voters.

That finding is timely as a federal court in Winston-Salem this summer heard the lawsuit of NC NAACP v. Berger, in which plaintiffs that include Common Cause NC are challenging discriminatory congressional and legislative districts that undermine the voting rights of Black North Carolinians. The three-judge panel has not yet issued a ruling in that case.

Meanwhile, 76% of North Carolina voters say it should be illegal for gerrymandering to be used to discriminate against voters based on their political party.

There is strong, bipartisan agreement on this point among voters, with 66% of Republicans, 79% of Democrats and 82% of unaffiliated voters saying partisan gerrymandering should be against the law. That finding is noteworthy after a Republican majority on the NC Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Paul Newby broke legal precedent by overturning a ban on partisan gerrymandering in 2023.

Voters are wary of politicians in the legislature in charge of drawing districts. Knowing that under the current system in North Carolina one political party controls how voting maps are drawn, 61% of voters say they’re not confident that the state’s congressional and legislative voting districts were drawn by legislators in a fair and transparent way, while just 25% express confidence.

A whopping 90% of voters believe electoral maps should be drawn with transparency and meaningful public input, including multiple public hearings held in communities across the state to allow people to comment on proposed districts. And nearly all voters – 94% – want districts that fairly represent all communities and political viewpoints.

“These findings show that North Carolina voters across parties want fair maps, transparency, and independent oversight,” said Brian Wynne, President of Opinion Diagnostics. “Public support is strong for a citizens’ redistricting commission and for courts to act as a backstop against gerrymandering. Partisan gerrymandering is widely rejected, including by majorities of Republicans as well as Democrats and unaffiliated voters.”

The survey of 671 registered North Carolina voters was conducted Sept. 15-17, 2025 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.8%.

View the poll toplines, crosstabs, and polling memo here.

Common Cause NC is a nonpartisan grassroots organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy. We work to create open, honest and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.