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Lawmaker Insists Non-Partisan Redistricting Is Not Dead

David Toscano

The top public offices in Virginia are held by Democrats, but the state’s senate and house are controlled by Republicans.  Experts say that’s because legislative district boundaries were drawn to favor GOP candidates.  Now, Sandy Hausman reports that one member of the legislature is hoping to rally the public – to push for a vote on non-partisan redistricting.

Have your say -- yea or nay.  

Contact members of the House Privileges and Elections Committee. And House Speaker William Howell:  804-698-1028, DelWHowell@house.virginia.gov  

When members of a state House subcommittee refused to send non-partisan redistricting bills to the Privileges and Elections Committee, many advocates said the issue was dead.

“But it is not dead.  There are several bills that came over from the Senate,” says  House Minority Leader David Toscano.

He's urging voters to check in with the committee and the speaker of the House – to demand a vote on one or more of the Senate bills. They might not pass in the House, where Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly two to one, but Toscano wants lawmakers on the record. 

“A lot of folks have told advocates of redistricting reform that if a bill gets to the floor, they will vote for it,” he explains.

Even if the General Assembly refuses to tackle the issue, he adds, gerrymandered districts may be history as the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the way Virginia drew its boundaries in 2000.

“That decision will probably come down in the summer, and the court may order a full-blown redistricting,” he says

And if that happens, Toscano predicts voters will be able to choose their lawmakers rather than lawmakers – who now draw district boundaries -- choosing their constituents.