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Virginia SJ 231 — Constitutional amendment; Virginia Redistricting Commission, criteria to redraw certain districts (2017)

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Redistricting
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SJ 231 was introduced in the Virginia General Assembly during the 2017 legislative session. The bill proposed a constitutional amendment establishing an independent redistricting commission tasked with both congressional and state legislative redistricting. Although SJ 231 was adopted by the Virginia State Senate, it failed to clear the Virginia House of Delegates.[1]

Note: This page summarizes a noteworthy law regarding redistricting in Virginia. It is not part of a comprehensive list of redistricting legislation for this year or state.

Background

Redistricting in Virginia

See also: Redistricting in Virginia

Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. Each of Virginia's 11 United States Representatives and 140 state legislators are elected from political divisions called districts. United States Senators are not elected by districts, but by the states at large. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. The federal government stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.[2][3][4][5]

Virginia was apportioned 11 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after the 2020 census, the same number it received after the 2010 census. Click here for more information about redistricting in Virginia after the 2020 census.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Following the 2020 United States Census, Virginia was apportioned 11 congressional districts, which was unchanged from the number it had after the 2010 census.
  • Virginia's House of Delegates is made up of 100 districts; Virginia's State Senate is made up of 40 districts.
  • In Virginia, congressional and state legislative district boundaries are set by a 16-member commission comprising state legislators and non-legislator citizens. The General Assembly must vote to approve the maps without amending them. If the General Assembly rejects the first set of draft maps, the commission must submit another. If the General Assembly rejects this second set of draft maps, the Virginia Supreme Court is tasked with enacting new maps.

    • Legislative history

    Originating in the Virginia State Senate, SJ 231 was referred to the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections on November 30, 2016. The committee reported a substitute for the bill on January 31, 2017. A series of similar bills were incorporated into SJ 231. On February 7, 2017, the Senate approved the bill by a vote of 33-7. The bill then moved to the House, where it was assigned to the House Committee on Privileges and Elections. The bill ultimately died in the committee.[1]

    Provisions

    SJ 231 proposed a constitutional amendment establishing an independent redistricting commission tasked with both congressional and state legislative redistricting. Had the bill become law, the commission would have comprised the following members, none of whom would have been permitted to be members or employees of the United States Congress or the Virginia General Assembly:[6]

    1. One member appointed by the president pro tempore of the Virginia State Senate
    2. One member appointed by the "leader in the Senate of the political party holding the most seats in the Senate other than the political party of the president pro tempore"
    3. One member appointed by the speaker of the Virginia House of Delegates
    4. One member appointed by the "leader in the House of Delegates of the political party holding the most seats in the House of Delegates other than the political party of the speaker"
    5. Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts (designated the commission chairman)
    6. Virginia State Inspector General
    7. Executive Director of the Virginia State Bar

    The bill established a five-vote majority in order to adopt remedial redistricting plans (including at least one vote from each political party represented on the commission). The bill also established criteria that the commission would have been required to abide by in drafting new maps.[6]

    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Virginia's Legislative Information System, "SJ 231 Constitutional amendment; Virginia Redistricting Commission, criteria to redraw certain districts," accessed November 27, 2017
    2. ↑ All About Redistricting, "Why does it matter?" accessed April 8, 2015
    3. ↑ Indy Week, "Cracked, stacked and packed: Initial redistricting maps met with skepticism and dismay," June 29, 2011
    4. ↑ The Atlantic, "How the Voting Rights Act Hurts Democrats and Minorities," June 17, 2013
    5. ↑ Redrawing the Lines, "The Role of Section 2 - Majority Minority Districts," accessed April 6, 2015
    6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Virginia's Legislative Information System, "Senate Joint Resolution No. 231," accessed November 27, 2017
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