The N.C. General Assembly's approval – again – of blatantly biased congressional district maps is an affront to all voters who value living and raising their families in a healthy environment, the N.C. Sierra Club said today (Wednesday, Oct. 22).
Legislative leaders openly boasted that they redrew and rushed to pass the new maps ahead of the 2026 mid-term elections, "doing everything we can to protect President Trump’s agenda, which means safeguarding Republican control of Congress," in the words of Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger.
The state Senate approved the maps Tuesday morning, and the House followed suit on Wednesday. The N.C. Constitution bars Gov. Josh Stein from vetoing the legislation. That means a challenge could only be mounted in court – yet another costly, disruptive legal battle over gerrymandered districts created by the GOP-controlled legislature in the past decade.
Statement by Chris Herndon, Chapter Director, N.C. Sierra Club:
"A healthy planet can only exist when we have a healthy democracy. North Carolina's legislative leaders have betrayed every person in our state by putting partisan fealty ahead of thoughtful legislation that serves all of the people they were elected to represent.
"North Carolinians of all political stripes will be harmed by redistricting done solely in the service of an extreme political agenda that has repeatedly failed our state's people and environment, an agenda that's unpopular with voters regardless of party. That's why they're trying to lock in the Trump administration's power with rigged maps instead of sound policymaking.
"The Trump administration has taken a hatchet to environmental protections, scuttling clean energy development, undermining regulatory protections for clean air and water, and stripping staffing and safeguards for the public lands we all own. It has directly failed our neighbors in western North Carolina by withholding federal reimbursements to communities rebuilding from unprecedented, climate-driven damage caused by Hurricane Helene.
"We said it in the face of biased map-making four years ago and it bears repeating: Redistricting should always be done by an independent, nonpartisan citizen commission. Politicians should have no power to pick their voters; voters should have the power to pick their leaders."