Fair Counties NC (FCNC) project provides information, tools, and support to enable voters to play a real role in drawing their county commissioner districts. We believe voters should play an active part in drawing the districts, rather than leaving it all in the hands of the commissioners alone.
We advocate for greater transparency, openness, and public engagement in the map-drawing process, so voters are truly part of the process. Districts should represent the interests of the voters, not those of their elected officials.
A fully participatory process enables voters’ diverse voices to be heard and reflected in how the commission districts are drawn. Neighborhoods and communities can be kept together, not separated across multiple districts so that no one really represents them.
31 NC counties elect some or all of their commissioners from districts. These 31 counties are likely to redraw in 2021 to keep the population in each commission district about equal, based on the new population figures from the 2020 Census. (Counties that select all of their commissioners at-large will not be required to redraw.) We’ve selected 13 Focus Counties out of these 31 counties (and plan to add more as we move forward!).
You can look up your NC county on the All Counties page to see how your commissioners are selected, learn more about how different NC counties select their commissioners here, and find out more about the Focus Counties here.
We’re excited to work with residents and local organizations in our focus counties, as well as our other partners across the state, to voters make their voices are heard loud and clear in the coming redistricting! Our county commissions make critical decisions that affect the lives of county residents every day. How commissioners’ districts are laid out can have a big impact on how those decisions are made.
…
Gerrymandering
When politicians rig district maps to benefit themselves, we call that “gerrymandering.” Whether we’re talking about the legislature, the county commission, or the school board, they all draw their own maps. That means the party holding the majority controls the map-drawing and they can cement themselves in control, undermining democracy.
Read more about gerrymandering here.
Image: 1812 political cartoon, Masschusetts state senate district. source: Wikipedia.
FCNC activities in 2021 will include:
- Starting County Redistricting Teams, initially in the Focus Counties, and also in other counties — we need Volunteers for these teams!
- Promoting endorsements of the Fair Counties Resolution by county commissions.
- Encouraging and supporting community involvement in the redistricting through to its conclusion (probably late in 2021) to ensure a fair, transparent county redistricting process.
Read more about an open, transparent county redistricting process here.
Come join us in 2021 for NC county redistricting!
We welcome organizational partners, volunteers, and donations to help achieve these important goals for North Carolina.
Sign up to receive updates for NC county commission redistricting.