When North Carolina’s state Supreme Court struck down conservative-gerrymandered election maps saying that they were in conflict with the state’s constitution, the belief that something approximating majority rule could thrive. Unfortunately, that decision was put in jeopardy as soon as the state’s Supreme Court flipped to Republican control. After rehearing the case, the newly conservative court ruled that Republicans could draw even more extremely gerrymandered districts. Newly drawn maps will affect North Carolina’s elections for at least the rest of the decade.
On top of this, Republicans, realizing that their gerrymandering machinations are not simply grotesque violations of the public trust but also lead to wildly unpopular results, added new layers of obfuscation about the process. They accomplished this by burying a provision in the 625-page budget, reversing longstanding state law that would have made their “redistricting communications and drafting documents part of the public record once the new electoral maps became law.” Public hearings began at the end of September, and many North Carolinians came to give their shady Republican legislators a piece of their mind.
This included Eric Willoughby, a teen from Huntersville. Willoughby spoke for less than two minutes but made every second count. Calling out the unpopular leadership shown by conservatives in North Carolina over gun safety and reproductive rights, the high school senior warned that this new scheme showed Republicans were “coming for every North Carolinians’ right to fair representation.”
Willoughby reminded the audience that these are the same legislators who have proven repeatedly they care very little for our democracy and the idea that they should now redraw the maps would be satirical if it wasn’t so serious. He spoke clearly and ended by admonishing these short-sighted fools, telling them to “watch your step. Be very careful in what you choose to do, because young people like me are watching and young people like me are fed up.”
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My name is Eric Willoughby. I'm a senior in high school, and I come to you today from North Mecklenburg County, Huntersville, to be specific. And I'm here today to convey a very, very simple message. I'm 17. I should be spending my Wednesday afternoons with friends or family, but instead, I'm here with y'all. I'm here because every single day I have to worry about which liberties Republican legislators are going to choose to gut next.
They started by refusing to take action against gun violence, and destroyed your right to peace of mind about something as simple as sending your child to school. Then they came for your right to make the most basic reproductive health care decisions that were right for you and your family. This time, they're coming for every North Carolinian’s right to fair representation.
This legislature is made up of the same people who have drawn maps that intentionally disenfranchise and limit the power of historically marginalized and minority voters. These are the same people who have proven to us time and time again through their voting record that they don't care. If these people cannot be trusted to protect our most basic rights. How can we trust them to draw fair and impartial maps that will promote a healthy and vibrant democracy?
They can't. We can't trust them. The Republicans in this committee and the others in the House and Senate don't care about democracy. They don't care about fair maps. All they care about are three simple things: reelection, power, and dollar signs. This redistricting stunt is a clear power grab by Republicans in the General Assembly.
So I urge you now: Watch your step. Be very careful in what you choose to do, because young people like me are watching and young people like me are fed up.
Republicans in North Carolina have shown a brazen willingness to throw any pretense of democracy out the window. The moment their failed governance coincided with being voted out of power, state conservatives began cooking up ways to undermine our democratic checks and balances in order to slant decisions to their minority rule. According to the U.S. Census, as of July 2022, there are almost 10.7 million North Carolinians and more than 20% of them are under the age of 18. But as Willoughby so eloquently explained, they won’t be for long.
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