Multimember N.C. Districts Face Extinction, Redistricting

Sen. Virginia Foxx, R-Watauga, who proposed Senate Bill 31, said creating single-member districts would allow more equal representation..

"There are some districts that are very tiny and others that are very large," she said.

"Redistricting will even out the population in each district and so only one member will be needed."

North Carolina has eight two-member Senate districts out of 42 and 18 two- or three-member House districts out of 98. Foxx's bill would create eight more Senate districts and 22 more House districts.

Orange County is in one of the multiple-member districts, electing two senators and two representatives.

Foxx said her proposal would not pose any redistricting problems because lawmakers have to redraw the districts anyway this session on the heels of last year's census.

She said districts with only one representative would be more beneficial to voters.

"Single-member districts would be easier for constituents because they know exactly who to contact," she said.

But Sen. Howard Lee, D-Orange, who represents a double-member district, said he would not the support the bill.

"Senate Bill 31 is a bad idea because a two-member representative district provides constituencies with higher quality service," Lee said.

He said the downside to multi-representative districts is their large size, making travel throughout the whole district cumbersome.

"The only benefit is that single-member districts would be smaller and so it would make traveling to see constituents easier," he said.

Sen. Ellie Kinnaird, D-Orange, shares her district with Lee and also opposes the bill.

Kinnaird said passage of Bill 31 would make Orange County forever Republican.

"We have an evenly divided district," she said.

"If it is split it into two districts we probably wouldn't get any representatives who are Democrats."

Kinnaird added that she has never heard anyone in her district complain about having two representatives.

She said she thinks having two representatives is actually beneficial.

"Constituents like having two representatives," Kinnaird said.

"They have two people batting for them instead of one."

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.