Today, the North Carolina legislature held a hearing on redistricting. During the committee hearing, Republicans made it abundantly clear that their main goal is to follow Donald Trump’s order to rig their maps and take power by any means necessary.

North Carolina is already one of the most gerrymandered states in the country. Ten Republicans and only four Democrats represent the state in Congress, despite the state electing Democrats statewide. North Carolina Republicans’ proposed map would make things even more unfair by drawing Democratic Congressman Don Davis out of his district, which is the only majority-minority district in the state. 

Here are some highlights of what Republican state Senator Ralph Hise said:

Sen. Ralph Hise: “The motivation behind this new plan is straightforward. The new congressional map improves Republicans’ critical strength in eastern North Carolina. … The end result is a congressional map that should perform to elect 11 Republicans.”

Sen. Ralph Hise: “There were no Democrats involved in the process of the drawing.”

In stark contrast, North Carolina voters testified against Republicans’ rigged maps:

Robert Uhl, North Carolina voter: “Redistricting cheats the people of North Carolina out of anything that resembles fair representation. The plan would further erode North Carolinians’ power to elect candidates of their choice. It flagrantly violates core principles of accountability and throws out the constitutional promise of equal representation, and it is another tool that is being applied to accomplish voter suppression… This partisan gerrymandering should be illegal, and it cheats the people, and I stand firmly against it.”

Karen Zeigler, Democracy Out Loud: “If you pass this, your legacy will be shredding the Constitution, destroying democracy. The last shred of democracy that is allowed in North Carolina. … We’re letting Donald Trump decide who represents the people of North Carolina…”

Khalil Thomas, Democracy Out Loud: “Let’s say the quiet part out loud. This is the Southern agenda. History will remember these votes. This is a racist map. Do Republicans believe that you all will continue to be electable when you don’t listen to constituents? Be brave.”

The DNC proudly stood with these North Carolinians at today’s hearing:

Reyna Walters-Morgan, DNC Vice Chair for Civic Engagement and Voter Participation, today in her testimony: “This map in North Carolina puts Washington, D.C. over the people of North Carolina. There was a survey recently that found that 84% of North Carolinians do not think it’s acceptable for politicians to draw districts to give their party more power. We need to do more to protect the voters of North Carolina.”

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