SUMMERFIELD, N.C. — Martha Shafer has kept a close eye on redistricting over the last few months.

Shafer lives in Summerfield and for years has advocated for causes she feels strongly about, like health care. 

The districts in Guilford County changed several times in the last decade, and she says that made it confusing for people to know who to talk to.


What You Need To Know

  • A three-judge panel heard arguments through the week over the state legislative and congressional district maps

  • The panel must have a decision by January 11

  • The plaintiffs' lawyers say the maps are an extreme partisan gerrymander

When she connected with her representatives, she didn’t always feel heard.

“It seems that Guilford County was split and that we were included with a lot of rural areas that don’t share the same concerns and needs that we have,” Shafer said.

Shafer felt so strongly about representation that in 2018 she ran as a democrat for the state legislature. She didn’t win but didn’t stop paying attention.

She spoke at the Forsyth County redistricting hearing last year and watched the redistricting trial through the week online.

“I am hopeful for democracy,” Shafer said. “It’s a little nerve-racking.”

She is hoping the three-judge panel rules in favor of the plaintiffs, the civil rights groups and individual voters who say the maps are extreme partisan gerrymanders.

The lawyers for the defendants, state legislative leaders, say the process was the most transparent in state history.

Shafer feels, however, that the residents of the Triad weren’t listened to. Instead of being paired with Winston-Salem in the congressional map, she is now grouped in with Ashe County to the west.

“It feels very discouraging. It feels like democracy is not working,” Shafer said.

The three-judge panel must come to a decision by Tuesday, January 11, and Shafer believes the future of the state and democracy is at risk.

“I’m proud to be from North Carolina. I’m a ninth generation North Carolinian, and I’ve always been proud to be from this state,” Shafer said. “I want my daughters to feel that way as well.”