CONTROL OVER REDISTRICTING

The General Assembly should hand over the reins to an independent commission

Virginia’s redistricting process is clearly broken and in need of immediate reform. On Jan. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant a stay in a case that challenged the constitutionality of 11 House districts. Now, some Republican lawmakers want to wait further to see whether the justices act on redistricting cases from North Carolina or Maryland.

The time for waiting is over.

A panel of judges from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia declared last summer that the Republican-drawn maps were unconstitutional because they were racially gerrymandered to concentrate African-American voters into specific districts, violating those voters’ constitutional right to equal representation.

Following last week’s U.S. Supreme Court decision, three federal judges agreed they could decide on new districts for Virginia’s House of Delegates in the next one to two months.

It’s a remedial step, but an independent commission of members of both parties, as well as redistricting experts, must be formed to instill a sense of transparency, accountability and reliability into the redistricting process.

All three of those characteristics are left at the door every 10 years when General Assembly members of the majority party gather in a room — away from public scrutiny — to draft district maps that are used until the next census figures are published. That process will repeat again in 2020.

Resulting are districts that protect those in power and marginalize minority voters. The creation of split voting precincts — where neighborhoods are divided into several legislative districts — clearly indicates lawmakers would rather muddy the electoral process than secede any power to the voters that elect them.

Virginia must take away legislators’ ability to control the redistricting process. Lawmakers, regardless of party, have proven they cannot create districts that do not favor the majority party in control of the process.

Independent commissions responsible for drawing the district every decade would inject transparency and accountability into the process.

Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, and Del. Steve Heretick, D-Portsmouth, have submitted proposals in this year’s General Assembly session to create such a commission.

To create an independent commission, lawmakers would have to amend the constitution by voting on it twice — with an election in between — as well as hold a voter referendum.

The first General Assembly vote would have to take place this year for the commission to become a reality in 2021 when new lines are drawn based on new census data.

A proposed constitutional amendment also is being circulated by nonpartisan, grassroots OneVirginia2021 that would create a process for selecting an independent commission responsible for drawing the legislative maps.

Now is the time to place a bedrock process in place that is fair to Virginia voters and that will remain so once the 2020 census data is applied. An independent redistricting process would all but eliminate the partisan bickering and legislative flailing that foments prior to the decennial census.

It truly is a shame that Virginia continues its attempts to wiggle away from the constitutionally protected rights enshrined in the 14th Amendment — in this particular case, the equal protection of one person, one vote.

Virginia’s institution of Massive Resistance, its passage of poll taxes and literacy tests and now its use of racial gerrymandering are all unique ways to suppress the power of African-American voters in our democratic process.

Why do legislators clutch so desperately to their clearly flawed redistricting practice? Because they cannot see the forest through the trees. In literal terms, their eyes are fixed on the November election when all 100 seats in the House and all 40 seats in the state Senate are on the ballot.

Republicans hold a tight majority in each chamber, but Democrats made significant gains during last November’s midterm elections.

Some lawmakers are hoping legal challenges originating in states such as North Carolina and Maryland to whether independent redistricting commissions are constitutional. The U.S.

Supreme Court has not made any definitive announcements about whether it will hear those cases, and waiting is not the answer.

Legislators must act now, not later.

Voters throughout the commonwealth deserve to have their voices heard in equal measure in future elections.

Contact your local General Assembly representatives and let them know an independent commission must be formed to oversee the redistricting process. Find their contact information at bit.ly/GAContacts.