Redistricting in North Carolina

Here’s how new congressional maps shift voting power in every state

By Janie Boschma, Renée Rigdon, Byron Manley and Ethan Cohen, CNN. Additional reporting and design by Melissa DePalo, Eleanor Stubbs and Christopher Hickey, CNN

Last updated: November 8, 2022

Every 10 years, states redraw the boundaries of their congressional districts to reflect new population counts from the census. A panel of three North Carolina judges approved a new congressional map for the state that was drawn by three former judges. Previously, the panel had rejected the revised map drawn by the state legislature after the state Supreme Court blocked their first map as a partisan gerrymander.

Under the new lines, seven of the districts would’ve voted for President Joe Biden and seven would’ve voted for Donald Trump in 2020. Because it was drawn by the court, the map will only be in effect for the 2022 midterm elections.

How the districts voted in 2020, by presidential vote margin in percentage points

Democratic

30+
15+
5+

Competitive

Within 5

Republican

5+
15+
30+

Old map 13 districts

In the old congressional map, there are 5 Democratic, 0 competitive and 8 Republican districts.

Change

Change in Democratic districts: 1+1D

Change in Competitive districts: 1+1C

Change in Republican districts: -1-1R

New map 14 districts(+1)

In the new congressional map, there are 6 Democratic, 1 competitive and 7 Republican districts.

How the new map shifts voting power by demographic

North Carolina gains a seat thanks to population growth recorded in the 2020 census. It will now send 14 representatives to the House. The new district is majority-White as well as 11 others. No demographic group has a majority in North Carolina’s 1st District, northeast of Raleigh, and the 12th District, home to Charlotte.

Number of White-majority districts
Old Map
11
New Map
12
A chart showing the number of White-majority districts has increased by 1, for a total of 12.
No group has majority
2
2
A chart showing the number of districts where no group has a majority has remained the same with 2.

The group that represents the majority in each district

White
No group has majority

About the data

Sources: US Census Bureau, Edison Research, each state’s legislature or other redistricting authority

Methodology note: Block-level demographic data from the 2020 census is reaggregated into each new district’s boundaries.