A federal trial began Monday that will determine whether Republican-drawn congressional and legislative maps in North Carolina are unfair to Black voters.
Before last year’s election, North Carolina’s congressional delegation was a testament to its status as a purple state. Seven of the 14 were Republican, and seven, Democrat.
But GOP mapmakers redrew the lines for 2024, resulting in a 10-4 Republican tilt. Three districts were so skewed toward the GOP that the incumbent Democrats chose not to run again, including former Rep. Kathy Manning of Greensboro.
Plaintiffs argue that the current maps erode Black voting power.
In an interview outside of the courthouse, Forsyth County voter Linda Sutton says the new maps left her feeling like no one is listening to her.
"I want my representative to care about the issues that are happening in my community and what people of color like myself are being faced with," she says. "I don't want to continue to feel like I don't matter.”
Sutton wants an independent panel to draw the political lines.
Attorneys for the Republican defendants say the maps were legally drawn using partisan, not racial, data.