Gerrymandered majorities in the NC General Assembly are refusing to pass full Medicaid expansion -- even though it would benefit 500,000 people in the state, including 300,000 people who currently have no health insurance.
Health care is a fundamental right, not a privilege. And Medicaid is a program that most Americans -- and more than 70% of North Carolinians -- support. So why are politicians willing to override their voters and play politics with access to health care? Gerrymandering.
North Carolina's maps are notoriously manipulated -- in fact, Republican legislators themselves have admitted the lines were drawn to maintain a conservative majority. And that's how they won supermajorities in 2012, 2014, and 2016 despite winning by only narrow margins. In 2018, Democrats running for the General Assembly actually won more votes than Republicans, but Republicans STILL have majorities in both chambers.
Health care is on the line -- not just in North Carolina, but in states that have unfair maps across the country. And since partisan gerrymandering is now able to go unchecked at the federal level, thanks to the Supreme Court, it's going to take a nationwide grassroots movement to ensure we have a fair redistricting process. That's exactly the kind of movement we're building with All On The Line.
Manipulated maps prevent us from making progress on issues like health care. The fact is North Carolinians should have expanded Medicaid. If you care about helping folks gain access to quality, affordable health care, sign up for regular updates from me on what's on the line and how to get involved in this movement.
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The next decade of progress is on the line -- and since our right to health care is being used as a political bargaining chip, we need to fight for fair maps and a system that will put people before politicians.
-- Saumya
Saumya Narechania
Campaign Director, All On The Line
All On The Line is the grassroots advocacy campaign supported by the National Redistricting Action Fund.
