RICHMOND, Va. 鈥� An assortment of bills designed to revise standards for drawing Virginia鈥檚 electoral districts could be the beginning of the end for gerrymandering in the state, according to proponents of redistricting reform.
Gerrymandering, the practice of politicians redrawing legislative districts to gain an electoral advantage, has drawn attention and disdain in recent years. North Carolina鈥檚 congressional map was declared unconstitutional last week by a panel of federal judges, who ruled legislators had drawn it with 鈥渋nvidious partisan intent.鈥�
In Virginia, House Bill 276, proposed by Democratic Del. Sam Rasoul of Roanoke, would create a Virginia Redistricting Commission. The commission would determine the criteria for remedial redistricting plans if a court declares any congressional or legislative district unlawful. Under the current system, the legislators themselves determine the criteria for redrawing these lines.
District lines are redrawn every 10 years in accordance with the U.S. census, but a number of federal court cases have the potential to require immediate redistricting in certain Virginia localities.
鈥淚 think it favors both parties to be able to make sure that we have the body and the rules available by which we would be able to draw lines should a court case come down a certain way,鈥� Rasoul said. 鈥淚 look forward to being able to work with Republicans and Democrats to get this done.鈥�
Rasoul said redistricting reform hinges upon a 鈥渇undamental question of fairness鈥� that he believes the majority of Virginians agree upon, regardless of party affiliation.
So far this session, legislators 鈥� both Democrats and Republicans 鈥� have introduced about 20 bills that would affect how political districts are drawn. They include:
鈥擧ouse Bill 205, which would establish criteria for remedial redistricting.
鈥擧ouse Bill 158, which would authorize the General Assembly to make technical adjustments to existing redistricting standards.
鈥擲enate Bill 106, which would create a size limit for congressional and state legislative districts.
Additionally, lawmakers have proposed eight constitutional amendments. The amendments 鈥� which require approval from the General Assembly this year and next, then approval by voters 鈥� would prohibit gerrymandering.
This session, legislators also must craft the state budget for the next two years, and it鈥檚 not realistic for them to approve a constitutional amendment as well, according to advocates of redistricting reform such as Brian Cannon of OneVirginia2021.
However, Cannon is optimistic that measures such as Rasoul鈥檚 proposed commission can be steps toward ending gerrymandering. Cannon said support for the initiative is widespread, suggesting 鈥�70-some鈥� percent of Virginians desire redistricting reform.
鈥淭his could be a dry run for setting up a commission, letting them do their work under good rules and a transparent process,鈥� Cannon said. 鈥淏y this time next year, if the process is good, we can adopt it; if it needs tweaks, we can do that, too.鈥�
Cannon said he believes the election of Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam and an influx of new Virginia legislators reflect a 鈥済ood-government wave.鈥� Cannon said the political climate is not conducive to schemes that protect incumbents like gerrymandering.
鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely reason for optimism. This is not a nerdy little issue anymore. This is the ethical issue in politics,鈥� Cannon said. 鈥淭he overall goal here is a constitutional amendment for Virginia so that we can take it out of the hands of the politicians, have good clear rules about keeping communities together and have transparency in the process.鈥�
Although advocates such as Cannon are enthusiastic about the prospects of redistricting reform in Virginia, political experts are more skeptical.
Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University, noted that officials elected under the current redistricting system are not likely to support changes such as interim commissions, much less a constitutional amendment in 2019.
鈥淒espite strong public opinion in favor of redistricting reform, the elected officials who benefited from the current system have so little enthusiasm to change it,鈥� Rozell said.
鈥淔urther, not everyone is convinced that a reformed system will do any better than the one that we have now. Public opinion may be in favor (of redistricting reform), but this is not an issue that generates much citizen passion. With no strong public passion on the issue, there isn鈥檛 a lot of pressure on elected officials to push major reforms.鈥�
Nevertheless, Rasoul believes there is bipartisan support for tackling gerrymandering in Virginia and establishing new ways to draw political districts.
鈥淲hat we need is not Republicans or Democrats fighting as to who鈥檚 going to draw the unfair lines,鈥� Rasoul said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 once and for all creating rules and boundaries so that districts are drawn fairly given population, political boundaries, common communities of interest, the Voting Rights Act and a number of different criteria that need to be considered.鈥�
Cannon is confident that the bills before the General Assembly can act as steppingstones toward the goal of eliminating gerrymandering in the commonwealth.
鈥淲e have a big opportunity this session to have this conversation in preparation for getting the final product ready to go this time next year,鈥� Cannon said. 鈥淭he reason they鈥檝e been able to get away with this is it鈥檚 a dirty deed done once a decade that they think we all forget about. We鈥檙e not forgetting anymore.鈥�
This story was provided by Capital 太子探花 Service’s partners at Virginia Commonwealth University.聽
