By Drew Persinger, JMU ‘21 Political Science, Campus Election Engagement Project Democracy Fellow
Gerrymandering is the most evil thing that happened to our political system. We have to get rid of the fixed system.”
– Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican, Former Governor of California, February 12, 2019
“Reducing gerrymandering will make voting fairer for all.”
-George Allen, Republican, Former Governor of Virginia, February 1, 2019
“We’ve got to end the practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters, and not the other way around. Let a bipartisan group do it.”
– Barack Obama, Democrat, 44th President of the United States, January 13, 2016
What is redistricting?
Every ten years, the US Census is conducted to count every person living in the United States. After the Census is released, state governments redraw district lines to apportion voters into equally populous districts. Redistricting is the process by which Congressional and State Legislative maps are drawn and passed.
What is a gerrymander?
Gerrymandering is the practice of drawing electoral district boundaries in such a way that one party gains an unfair advantage over the opposing party. With increasing access to voting data, predicting how individuals will vote has become much easier, allowing politicians to gerrymander districts more easily in their favor.
Background
In Virginia, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are currently set by the Virginia General Assembly. These lines are subject to veto by the governor. The Virginia Constitution requires that congressional and state legislative districts be compact and contiguous.
In June 2018, a US District Court ruled that 11 Virginia House of Delegates districts were unconstitutional due to racially gerrymandering black voters into concentrated districts which sparked scrutiny of the Virginia district drawing process. Per Virginia’s court order, a new map was chosen in February 2019.
In 2019 and 2020, the Virginia General Assembly passed a bipartisan constitutional amendment forming a redistricting commission for the 2021 redistricting process to end partisan and racial gerrymandering. Amendment One is on the ballot for Virginia voters this November for ratification.
Amendment One Explained
The proposed amendment would shift the responsibility of drawing these election districts from the General Assembly and the Governor to a bipartisan commission. The commission would draw the maps and then submit the maps for approval from the General Assembly. If the commissioners are unable to agree on proposals for maps by a certain date, or if the General Assembly does not approve the submitted maps by a certain date, the commission is allotted additional time to draw new districts, but if maps are not then submitted or approved, the Supreme Court of Virginia becomes responsible for drawing these election districts.
Redistricting has been used, by both parties, as a political tool that can have adverse effects on minority communities. Redistricting distributes power and representation by drawing districts in a way to gain electoral advantage. Districts can also be drawn to dilute the power of racial minorities by concentrating their votes into fewer districts.
Drawing districts through a non-partisan process has the potential to drastically change partisan representation in the state legislature, as well as changing the ways in which communities form and identify. Virginia’s Amendment One allows legislators to appoint members of the commission, creating a potential for the goal of the commission to be undermined.
Arizona creates their redistricting commissions through a ballot measure approved by voters. Alaska built a smaller commission appointed by members of each branch of state government. A growing number of states are transitioning to redistricting by independent or bipartisan commissions but differ in the processes of choosing commission members and approving maps.
Key Quotes
“As a Black woman in America who knows how important the constitution is to whether or not she has freedom, why would you put something in the constitution that you know you have to go back and fix?… I’m looking into the future well beyond me being in the House of Delegates.”
-Delegate Cia Price, D-Newport News, September 20, 2020
“We need to pass the redistricting amendment like we need oxygen to breathe.”
-John March, Richmond GOP headquarters spokesperson, September 20, 2020
“We don’t want to enshrine something into our constitution that is not ready for prime time. We’ve been there before.”
-Delegate Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, September 23, 2020
“This is bipartisan not hyper partisan…Both parties have input rather than one party getting zero input.”
-Delegate Jason Miyares, R-Virginia Beach, September 20, 2020
OneVirginia2021
OneVirginia2021 is a nonprofit group in Virginia that advocates for nonpartisan redistricting in Virginia. The organization supports passing a constitutional amendment to create a process that is transparent and includes citizens. They emphasize the dangers of partisan gerrymandering including creating partisan gridlock, eliminating moderate influences, removing competition, and carving up communities.
“There are several good ideas being considered in the 2020 General Assembly session, but a constitutional amendment has always been the only fail-safe method to take this important process out of the hands of the legislature.” -Brian Cannon, OneVirginia2021’s executive director
Fair Districts VA
Fair Districts is a political action committee that is committed to nonpartisan and independent redistricting reform. The organization strives to convince Virginia voters to vote against Amendment One. Fair Districts believes that the amendment is insufficient to end partisan and racial gerrymandering. Fair Districts promotes policy that removes the district drawing process from elected officials.
Discussion Questions
- Do you believe that the proposed amendment will be effective in combating partisan & racial gerrymandering?
- What impact do you think gerrymandering has on the way elected officials behave in office?
- Why would including citizens in the commission be beneficial?
More resources:
- Proposed Amendment (Department of Elections)
- OneVirginia2021
- Fair Districts VA
- Virginia House of Delegates Representative Schuyler VanValkenburg talked about redistricting reform on Democracy Matters. https://www.jmu.edu/news/civic/2020/07-28-democracy-matters-episode-31.shtml
- Virginia State Senator Scott Surovell (JMU, ’93; UVA Law, ’96), the Senate Democratic Whip, talked about redistricting reform on Democracy Matters. https://jmu.edu/news/civic/2020/05-14-democracy-matters-episode-24.shtml
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