North Carolina SB 698: Fair Districts Stronger Democracy Act.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
S 1
SENATE BILL 698

Short Title: Fair Districts Stronger Democracy Act. (Public)
Sponsors: Senators Applewhite and Mohammed (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to: Rules and Operations of the Senate
March 26, 2025
*S698-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO AMEND THE NORTH CAROLINA CONSTITUTION TO PROVIDE FOR AN 2
INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING PROCESS, TO ESTABLISH THE NORTH 3
CAROLINA INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION, AND TO MAKE 4
CONFORMING CHANGES TO THE GENERAL STATUTES. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
7
PART I. INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING PROCESS 8
SECTION 1.(a) Section 3 of Article II of the North Carolina Constitution reads as 9
rewritten: 10
"Sec. 3. Senate districts; apportionment of Senators. 11
The Senators shall be elected from districts. The General Assembly, at the first regular session 12
convening after the return of every decennial census of population taken by order of Congress, 13
shall revise the senate districts and the apportionment of Senators among those districts, subject 14
to the following requirements:Assembly shall establish an independent process to revise the 15
senate districts and the apportionment of Senators among those districts pursuant to Section 25 16
of this Article. 17
(1) Each Senator shall represent, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants, the 18
number of inhabitants that each Senator represents being determined for this purpose by dividing 19
the population of the district that he represents by the number of Senators apportioned to that 20
district; 21
(2) Each senate district shall at all times consist of contiguous territory; 22
(3) No county shall be divided in the formation of a senate district; 23
(4) When established, the senate districts and the apportionment of Senators shall remain 24
unaltered until the return of another decennial census of population taken by order of Congress." 25
SECTION 1.(b) Section 5 of Article II of the North Carolina Constitution reads as 26
rewritten: 27
"Sec. 5. Representative districts; apportionment of Representatives. 28
The Representatives shall be elected from districts. The General Assembly, at the first regular 29
session convening after the return of every decennial census of population taken by order of 30
Congress, shall revise the representative districts and the apportionment of Representatives 31
among those districts, subject to the following requirements:Assembly shall establish an 32
independent process to revise the representative districts and the apportionment of 33
Representatives among those districts pursuant to Section 25 of this Article. 34
(1) Each Representative shall represent, as nearly as may be, an equal number of 35
inhabitants, the number of inhabitants that each Representative represents being determined for 36

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 Senate Bill 698-First Edition
this purpose by dividing the population of the district that he represents by the number of 1
Representatives apportioned to that district; 2
(2) Each representative district shall at all times consist of contiguous territory; 3
(3) No county shall be divided in the formation of a representative district; 4
(4) When established, the representative districts and the apportionment of 5
Representatives shall remain unaltered until the return of another decennial census of population 6
taken by order of Congress." 7
SECTION 1.(c) Article II of the North Carolina Constitution is amended by adding 8
a new section to read: 9
"Sec. 25. Redistricting. 10
The General Assembly shall establish by law an independent process to revise electoral 11
districts for Congress and the General Assembly after the return of every federal decennial census 12
of population taken by order of Congress. The process shall meet at least all of the following 13
requirements: 14
(1) The General Assembly shall have no role in revising electoral districts for Congress 15
or the General Assembly. 16
(2) Each member of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the General 17
Assembly and the House of Representatives of the United States Congress shall represent, as 18
nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants. 19
(3) Each electoral district shall at all times consist of contiguous territory. 20
(4) To the extent practicable and consistent with federal law, no county shall be divided 21
in the formation of an electoral district for the Senate or the House of Representatives of the 22
General Assembly. 23
(5) When established, the electoral districts for the Senate and the House of 24
Representatives of the General Assembly shall remain unaltered until the return of another 25
federal decennial census of population taken by order of Congress. 26
(6) Electoral districts adopted pursuant to the process shall have the force and effect of 27
acts of the General Assembly." 28
SECTION 1.(d) Subsection (5) of Section 22 of Article II of the North Carolina 29
Const