Drawing a nonpartisan NC map

An annotated congressional district map drawing from an independent

North Carolina’s congressional districts have had perennial problems with gerrymandering by both parties. The last congressional district map, which I analyzed in this article, was only in place for a single cycle; North Carolina needs a new map. One has been passed by the legislature.

In what follows, I will step through my reasoning in drawing a North Carolina congressional district map without taking into account race or partisanship. This is, from my perspective, a necessary first step before analyzing the map; you have to understand what a fairly drawn map might look like first. My next article on the subject will look at the new actual map, which (like most maps drawn by North Carolina state legislatures in my lifetime) is probably much less fairly drawn.

Use of existing subdivisions

The main consideration I have in mind is making districts that are compact both in human and geographic terms. North Carolina is divided into cities and counties, with several distinct geographic regions (e.g., mountains, coastline) and three major population centers (the Triangle, the Triad, and Charlotte).

Finding the seeds of each district

Keeping counties and cities largely intact means that most districts can be identified by a major population center. Counties are the larger political unit…