A Citizen's Guide to Redistricting Reform in Virginia

On March 5, 2020, the Virginia General Assembly passed Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment to create a 16-member bipartisan redistricting commission, made up of eight citizens and eight legislators. This amendment will now go before the voters in November 2020, the supermajority of whom support it, according to a Wason Center poll in December 2019.

In addition, the General Assembly passed SB717 and HB1255, identical bills codifying line-drawing standards for the redistricting process. These bills add onto SJ18’s protections for communities of color, require respect for communities of interest, and prohibit partisanship on a statewide basis. They also end the practice of prison gerrymandering in the Commonwealth.

Virginia has endured a decade of redistricting litigation, but it need not be this way. The passage of strong redistricting standards is a step in the right direction, but putting redistricting power in the hands of a commission can remove self-dealing and partisanship from the process in 2021.

Below is the Princeton Gerrymandering Project's full report. Please email any questions or comments regarding the report to our team at gerrymander@princeton.edu.