The debate on redistricting reform in Virginia came to Richmond Circuit Court Monday, when it started to hear a lawsuit brought by OneVirginia2021 — a leading advocacy organization for fair redistricting — over districts drawn by the General Assembly.
The case is part of an ongoing political battle in Virginia over redistricting reform. Last month, the Virginia House of Delegates defeated a proposed constitutional amendment to strengthen provisions making Virginia’s electoral districts more contiguous and compact.
Since redistricting occurs every 10 years after each census, 2011 was the last time Virginia’s districts were redrawn. The next redistricting opportunity in Virginia will occur in 2021 following the 2020 census.
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out a ruling maintaining 11 Virginia districts and recommended a reconsideration of boundaries. In addition, Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has urged Republican lawmakers to redraw districts based on the Supreme Court ruling.
OneVirginia2021 claims the lines drawn in 2011 did not fulfill the constitutional requirement of being compact. The Virginia Constitution requires districts be both contiguous and compact.
“I think that if you just look at them, they’re not compact,” Brian Cannon, the executive director of OneVirginia2021, said.
Cannon said he hopes the Virginia legislature adopts a standard for compactness. One proposal to measure districts would be to compare their compactness scores to “a perfectly compact district” and to “measure the degradation from that,” according to Cannon.
Although the trial is not over, Cannon said he remains optimistic about his organization’s chances. He said the judge of the case is familiar with the issue at hand.
“We are fortunate to have a judge who has demonstrated time and time again a clear understanding of all the cases and what they mean and has read all the briefs,” Cannon said. “So we’re very fortunate to have a judge that has above and beyond done his homework on this case and appears interested in redistricting.”
Cannon also said the progress organizations like OneVirginia2021 have made in making redistricting an important statewide issue is significant.
“Redistricting reform is the ethical issue in our politics today,” Cannon said.
Adam Kimelman, a second-year College student and College Republicans vice chair of campaigns, said he agrees with the importance of anti-gerrymandering provisions but thinks the problem needs national attention to be solved.
“Gerrymandering is a national problem that requires efforts by Republicans and Democrats in the federal government or nonpartisan organizations to fix,” Kimmelman said.
The trial continues Wednesday and could go until Thursday. If OneVirginia2021 secures a victory in the case, it opens the possibility of significant changes in the redrawing of Virginia’s electoral districts in 2021.
E. Mark Braden, the attorney for the Va. House of Delegates, declined to comment.
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