Common Cause of North Carolina’s Bob Phillips on the threat of mid-decade redistricting

 

If there’s a single factor that’s playing the largest role in spurring the dysfunction and divisiveness that plague modern American politics, gerrymandering – the intentional rigging of electoral districts for partisan purposes – is it. With the assistance of digital technology and recent judicial rulings that have given them complete carte blanche, state legislatures across the country are making a mockery of fair elections by drawing and redrawing electoral districts to assure partisan electoral outcomes even before the candidates are selected.

And sadly, one of the national poster children for this destructive trend is North Carolina, where in response to the demands of President Trump, Republican leaders have signaled a willingness to redraw the state’s already rigged U.S. House map to expand their 10-4 majority to 11-3. Recently, in order to learn more about the GOP scheme and a new poll that shows strong bipartisan opposition to it, Newsline caught up with one of our state’s leading defenders of democracy and fair elections, the executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, Bob Phillips.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Common Cause of North Carolina executive director Bob Phillips.