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New congressional maps bring changes to Forsyth's district boundaries

The congressional map that state lawmakers recently approved. Screenshot from the NC General Assembly website. KERI BROWN/WFDD

The North Carolina General Assembly finalized maps for the state's legislative and congressional districts that are supposed to last for the next decade.

There are some significant changes to Forsyth County's boundaries.

North Carolina's population has increased and that means it will get a new 14th congressional seat. Districts have to meet equal population requirements, and sometimes the boundaries are drawn into other counties to meet that threshold.

Currently in Forsyth County, the congressional boundaries are divided into the 6th district, held by Democrat Kathy Manning, and the 10th district, held by Republican Patrick McHenry. Under the new proposed boundaries, all of Forsyth County would be under one roof joining other counties in a new 12th district.

Catawba College political scientist Michael Bitzer says the changes would make it much more GOP-oriented. And it's hard to tell if the proposed state maps will withstand over time.

“This is only round one. We will likely see several lawsuits filed over both the partisan nature of these maps and the racial makeup of these maps," he says.

That began last month when the state NAACP and others sued saying that lawmakers refused to consider race-based data in drawing legislative districts.

In North Carolina, the majority party of both the state House and Senate controls the redistricting process.

The governor doesn't have veto power to block redistricting plans.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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