The general public in Virginia is overwhelmingly opposed to the current arrangement for redrawing legislative districts every year, in which lawmakers select their own constituencies and perpetuate their hold on power. The occasional outbreaks of reform-mindedness haven’t gotten far, however. It is exceedingly rare for any political party, either Democratic or Republican, to voluntarily cede control over a process that could easily result in a loss of power.
In a newly published essay in The Virginia News Letter, Benjamin M. Harris and Stephen J. Farnsworth explore successful efforts to achieve bipartisan redistricting reform in Iowa, Arizona and California. The authors are not optimistic about the prospects.
The road ahead for the reform movement in Virginia is more challenging than it was in California and Arizona, which used voter referendum measures to enact and refine their systems. Citizen referenda by petition are not authorized by the Virginia Constitution. Instead, the state would need the General Assembly’s approval to enact reform. … Any long-lasting changes to Virginia’s redistricting system must be passed through constitutional amendment. Short of a constitutional amendment, the only option would be for lawmakers to choose to consult with outside line-drawing experts in a nonbinding way. This of course is not something they have shown much interest in doing in the past. …
While the lawmakers in Iowa did take away the redistricting power from themselves, more or less (they do retain the final say over the lines drawn by nonpartisan staff), the current political environment in Virginia also does not seem hospitable to this outcome. For decades, Virginia politicians have unabashedly and openly engaged in gerrymandering. … To make matters worse for the prospects for reform, Richmond in recent years has rapidly descended into the swamp of deep polarization that afflicts the nations’ capital. …
The obstacles are greater in Virginia, as lawmakers who control the contours of their own districts’ borders will not give up that authority lightly.
— JAB
