Redistricting in North Carolina ahead of the 2026 elections
Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures. This article covers redistricting activity in North Carolina after the 2024 elections and before the 2026 elections.
North Carolina redrew its congressional map ahead of the 2026 elections. The state Senate approved a new congressional map on October 21, 2025, and the state House followed on October 22, 2025.[1][2] Redistricting bills do not require gubernatorial approval in North Carolina and are not subject to a veto. The North Carolina General Assembly previously adopted new congressional district boundaries on October 25, 2023.[3] The legislation adopting the new maps passed the state Senate by a vote of 28-18 and the State House by a vote of 64-40.[4] Both votes were strictly along party lines with all votes in favor by Republicans and all votes against by Democrats.[5][6]
This article documents the redistricting effort in North Carolina ahead of the 2026 elections. To read about redistricting in North Carolina after the 2020 census, click here.
- North Carolina redistrictingNorth Carolina's 2025 congressional redistricting
- Court challengesLitigation over the redrawn map
- National contextRedistricting in other states ahead of the 2026 elections
Redistricting in North Carolina ahead of the 2026 elections
North Carolina Republican leaders announced on October 13, 2025, that the General Assembly would consider a new congressional map ahead of the 2026 elections.[7]
Heading into the redistricting effort, Republicans represented 10 of North Carolina's 14 Congressional districts, and Democrats represented four.
Comparison of old and new congressional map
The following maps compare the congressional district boundaries enacted after the 2020 census with those enacted in 2025 and are colored by partisan change according to 2024 presidential results.
Timeline of mid-decade redistricting in North Carolina
The timeline below tracks updates to North Carolina's redistricting efforts ahead of the 2026 elections, including map proposal and approval and major court filings. For more information about litigation over the new congressional map, click here.
- October 22, 2025
The North Carolina House approved a new congressional map by a 66-48 vote, enacting it into law.[8] The map aimed to net one Republican congressional district.[9]
Court challenges
- If you are aware of any relevant lawsuits that are not listed here, please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
As of 2026, Ballotpedia had not tracked any lawsuits challenging enacted maps in this state.
To read about litigation over the map passed after the 2020 census, click here.
National overview
As of February 2026, six states had congressional district maps that were subject to change before the 2026 elections, and six states—California, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Utah—had new congressional maps. Three states were reportedly exploring voluntary redistricting, and three states had congressional maps that were subject to change due to litigation. Before 2025, only two states had conducted voluntary mid-decade redistricting since 1970.[10]
The map below shows redistricting activity between the 2024 and 2026 elections.
The table below shows redistricting activity between the 2024 and 2026 elections as well as the pre-redistricting U.S. House delegation in each state.
| State | Reason for redistricting | Status | Method of redistricting | U.S. House delegation before redistricting | Potential result of new maps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New map enacted | |||||
| California | Voluntary redistricting | Voters approved the use of a new map on Nov. 4, 2025. | Commission | 43 D - 9 R | +5 D |
| Missouri | Voluntary redistricting | Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) signed new map into law on Sept. 28, 2025. | Legislature-dominant | 6 R - 2 D | +1 R |
| North Carolina | Voluntary redistricting | Legislature passed new map into law on Oct. 22, 2025 | Legislature-dominant | 10 R - 4 D | +1 R |
| Ohio | Required by law to redistrict | Redistricting commission approved a new map on Oct. 31, 2025 | Legislature-dominant | 10 R -5 D | +2 R |
| Texas | Voluntary redistricting | U.S. Supreme Court ruled the new Texas map could be used in 2026 | Legislature-dominant | 25 R -12 D with 1 vacancy | +5 R |
| Utah | Changed due to litigation | Court approved new plaintiff-submitted map | Legislature-dominant | 4 R - 0 D | +1 D |
| Net | +3 R | ||||
| New map possible | |||||
| Florida | Voluntary redistricting | Special session to occur April 2026 | Legislature-dominant | 20 R - 8 D | - |
| Georgia | Subject to change due to litigation | Litigation ongoing | Legislature-dominant | 9 R - 5 D | - |
| Louisiana | Subject to change due to litigation | Litigation ongoing | Legislature-dominant | 4 R - 2 D | - |
| Maryland | Voluntary redistricting | House approved new map | Legislature-dominant | 7 D - 1 R | - |
| New York | Subject to change due to litigation | Litigation ongoing | Hybrid | 19 D - 7 R | - |
| Virginia | Voluntary redistricting | Litigation ongoing over constitutional amendment to allow redistricting | Hybrid | 6 D - 5 R | - |
See also
- Redistricting ahead of the 2026 elections
- Redistricting in North Carolina
- State-by-state redistricting procedures
- Majority-minority districts
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- All About Redistricting
- Dave's Redistricting
- FiveThirtyEight, "What Redistricting Looks Like In Every State"
- National Conference of State Legislatures, "Redistricting Process"
- FairVote, "Redistricting"
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 ABC 11, "NC Senate passes proposed voting maps changes, bill moves to House," October 21, 2025
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedhousepass - ↑ The New York Times, "North Carolina Republicans Approve House Map That Flips at Least Three Seats," October 26, 2023
- ↑ North Caroliina General Assembly, "Senate Bill 757 / SL 2023-145," accessed October 26, 2023
- ↑ North Caroliina General Assembly, "House Roll Call Vote Transcript for Roll Call #613," accessed October 26, 2023
- ↑ North Caroliina General Assembly, "Senate Roll Call Vote Transcript for Roll Call #492," accessed October 26, 2023
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednorthcarolina - ↑ WRAL News, NC Republicans pass new congressional districts into law to boost GOP edge in U.S. House races, October 22, 2025
- ↑ New York Times, "North Carolina State Senate Approves New Congressional Map in Effort to Add a Seat," October 21, 2025
- ↑ Pew Research Center, "Redistricting between censuses has been rare in the modern era," August 28, 2025
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