A special election will be held for Virginia voters on April 21 to determine if the Constitution of Virginia should be amended to allow for the temporary adoption of new congressional districts.
Presently, districts in Virginia are redrawn by the Virginia Redistricting Commission, a body made up of eight citizens and eight legislators that has equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans. Districts are redrawn once every ten years, with the last drawing being held in 2021. Although current law maintains that another redrawing will not be held within the state until 2031, this proposed amendment to the Constitution of Virginia would give the General Assembly the authority to redraw one or more of Virginia’s congressional districts in the circumstance that “another state redraws its own congressional districts before 2031, without being ordered by a court to do so” according to the Virginia Department of Elections.
Virginia Democrats currently hold six seats in the House of Representatives while Republicans hold five. The proposed congressional map creates eight seats that Politico deems as “easily winnable” by Democrats, a pair of toss up districts and one Republican-held district.
“The Governor’s priority has been upholding the integrity of Virginia’s elections, and her team has been working throughout this process to make sure any proposed map could actually be implemented on the quick timeline before elections administrators,” said a spokesperson for Democratic Governor Abigail Spanberger.
However, a county judge has halted Democrats from moving forward with the redistricting, and the Virginia Supreme Court will “likely [weigh] the legal challenge that Democrats violated state procedure,” according to Politico.
This amendment was introduced in Virginia in response to efforts to keep the House in Republican control by redrawing congressional maps in other states. The mid-decade redistricting began in Texas, which added five Republican congressional seats. This course of action, although rejected by district courts, was ultimately approved by federal courts.
Missouri and North Carolina are aiming to emulate this practice in favor of Republicans while California and Utah attempt to do the same to favor Democrats. Coming up on midterm elections, even a marginal difference in representation could be highly significant for either side.
These events draw attention to the upcoming mid-term elections and the tight race to win majority in the House, but they also call into question the validity of elections that are determined by redrawing district lines.
Partisan gerrymandering is the deliberate redrawing of voting district boundaries to give a specific party a significant electoral advantage, and it has been used throughout history to minimize the power of voters. This practice is legal under the United States Constitution, aside from some specific circumstances.
Despite party affiliation, it is important to keep in mind the purpose of a representative government, and equally important that citizens’ voices be heard. The Supreme Court has said, “[The] core principle of republican government [is] that the voters should choose their representatives, not the other way around,”. In the midst of a struggle for power between Democrats and Republicans, it’s imperative that Virginia citizens remember their power as voters and advocate for what they believe to be fair and just.
Sophia Vance
Staff Reporter
