Virginia's Redistricting Commission May Fail to Redraw Congressional District Map

Source: Times-Dispatch

Virginia’s redistricting commission, continuing to split along partisan lines ahead of its Monday deadline, appears close to failure on fashioning a map of the state’s congressional districts.

On Wednesday, the commission could not agree on what it is trying to accomplish from a political standpoint. It deadlocked on separate 8-8 party-line votes on whether to seek a map with five Democratic-leaning districts, five Republican-leaning districts and one toss-up district, or a map with five Democratic-leaning districts, four GOP-leaning districts and two highly competitive districts.

The deadlock raised the likelihood that the bipartisan commission of eight citizens and eight legislators, established through a constitutional amendment that Virginia’s voters overwhelmingly backed, will fail to agree on maps of the state’s congressional districts or its legislative districts, leaving both tasks to the state Supreme Court.

Related: 'We're done" (Cardinal News, Oct. 20)
Related: Setup, process mar Virginia's redistricting commission (Roanoke Times, Oct. 20)