A panel of federal judges recently declared North Carolina's Congressional maps unconstitutional. (Congressional maps divide the state into voting districts.) The maps had been drawn by Republicans and tilted heavily in their favor. The ruling required lawmakers to redraw the maps by the end of January 2018, but the U.S. Supreme Court has put that ruling on hold.

Recently Tom Ross ran a bipartisan simulation which demonstrated how independent redistricting in the state might work. Lessons learned in North Carolina could be applied to other states who are grappling with these issues.

Tom Ross is president of the Volcker Alliance, which is working to rebuild public trust in government. He is the first Terry Sanford Distinguished Fellow at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.