New congressional maps bring changes to Forsyth's district boundaries

The North Carolina General Assembly finalized maps for the state's legislative and congressional districts that are supposed to last for the next decade.

There are some significant changes to Forsyth County's boundaries.

North Carolina's population has increased and that means it will get a new 14th congressional seat. Districts have to meet equal population requirements, and sometimes the boundaries are drawn into other counties to meet that threshold.

Currently in Forsyth County, the congressional boundaries are divided into the 6th district, held by Democrat Kathy Manning, and the 10th district, held by Republican Patrick McHenry. Under the new proposed boundaries, all of Forsyth County would be under one roof joining other counties in a new 12th district.

Catawba College political scientist Michael Bitzer says the changes would make it much more GOP-oriented. And it's hard to tell if the proposed state maps will withstand over time.

“This is only round one. We will likely see several lawsuits filed over both the partisan nature of these maps and the racial makeup of these maps," he says.

That began last month when the state NAACP and others sued saying that lawmakers refused to consider race-based data in drawing legislative districts.

In North Carolina, the majority party of both the state House and Senate controls the redistricting process.

The governor doesn't have veto power to block redistricting plans.

Follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news