It’s been fun these last few weeks highlighting a few of our legislators’ accomplishments working collaboratively. Unfortunately, recent weeks have also demonstrated the worst side of politics. Tremendous misinformation is being spread about gerrymandering, and April 21’s ballot issue “Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia’s standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?”
Glossy and expensive election materials are being sent everywhere suggesting that such notables as Abigail Spanberger, Barack Obama, and even Martin Luther King Jr. (he was, of course, assassinated 58 years ago) either are or should be opposed to this issue. This is simply ridiculous. Governor Spanberger and President Obama have gone on record clearly endorsing this issue and urging voters to vote yes.
Gerrymandering attempts to unfairly draw electoral boundaries to favor a political party, rather than to provide fair representation. Both parties have done it. Gerrymandering moves away from using natural boundaries (based on such things as geographic features, county lines and keeping voting districts compact). Every 10 years, following the national census, new congressional district boundaries need to be drawn for states that have gained or lost population, providing an opportunity to gerrymander. Following the 2010 census, the Republican party was particularly successful with its Project Redmap in gerrymandering many swing states, including Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, and Michigan. This effort greatly increased the number of Republican legislators without needing more votes.
More recently, several states, including Virginia, established more fair practices in determining voting districts. In 2020 Virginia began using a 16-member commission with equal representation from each party to draw congressional districts. This method was designed to offer fair representation, moving away from partisan gerrymandering. We would have had no need for this upcoming ballot to temporarily change that, except for Texas deciding – without precedent – to suddenly gerrymander again (in a non-census year!) to help the Republican party. This was done at the recommendation of the President – it was not at the request of local representatives and was a surprise to everyone. Think of this as a 100-yard dash, with a university administrator demanding that the coaches give its school runners a 10-yard headstart. Not very fair – and only done if you believe you can get away with it. This upcoming election simply says that Virginia will also have that10-yard headstart in its race – responding to the cheat. Both are unfair, but effectively neutralize one another. It levels the playing field. The final result would be a reasonable although better yet would be going back to the old rules. Let’s hope that happens with redistricting after the 2030 census – with Virginia able to again use its commission to determine congressional districts.
The outcome of our congressional races is a national issue. Controlling the House of Representatives affects us all. It is not primarily a local issue. To the Democrats’ credit, they are looking at gerrymandering as a temporary measure, designed only in response to Texas changing the playing field. As a matter of practicality, voting no rewards Texas Republicans for changing the rules midgame. It also is a vote to keep the House of Representatives in Republican control – suggesting that you think it is currently doing a good job. A vote of yes is a preference for keeping the rules the same for both parties – not allowing anyone to cheat. A vote of yes encourages changing control of the House, believing this will create a better and more responsive government.
