In a rare bit of good news for our politics, the grossly antidemocratic practice of gerrymandering subsided a little in recent years as several states shifted control of redistricting from partisan legislatures to independent commissions. Virginia was one such state. In 2020, it adopted a constitutional provision establishing an independent commission process in order to end racial and partisan gerrymandering. The Virginia process was enacted with broad bipartisan support and garnered widespread praise.[1]See, e.g., here and here.
Unfortunately, gerrymandering has returned with a vengeance at President Trump’s instigation. Texas responded to his urging with a gerrymander that could shift five currently Democratic congressional seats to Republicans. California countered with a proposal to override its independent commission and shift five seats from Republicans to Democrats. To their credit, some red and blue states refused to participate in this gerrymandering frenzy; other states joined or are considering joining in on one side or the other. To its discredit, Virginia is one of the latter.
The Democratic-controlled Virginia General Assembly recently enacted a proposal, signed and actively supported by Governor Spangenberger, to amend the state’s constitution to reverse its independent redistricting process for 2026 and the following two election cycles. If approved by Virginia voters in an April 21 special election, the amendment would return control over redistricting to the legislature and give it free rein to once more gerrymander congressional districts.
The General Assembly has already developed a radically gerrymandered map designed to change the state’s congressional delegation from 6-5 to 10-1 in favor of Democrats. In the process, it would shift almost half the state’s voters to new districts and effectively disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Virginians with respect to their congressional vote.[2]For background, see here, here, here, and here.
One of the most outrageous aspects of this regressive proposal is the disingenuous, indeed Orwellian way it is being sold to voters. The official description appearing on the April 21 ballot, which was dictated by the General Assembly on a party-line vote, calls it a measure “to restore fairness” in upcoming elections. Obviously, it would do precisely the opposite by restoring the unfairness of gerrymandered electoral districts that the independent commission was enacted to prevent.
The proposal would penalize a very large portion of Virginia voters simply for being potential Republican voters. The Democratic governor and legislative majority apparently rationalize unfairly disadvantaging these Virginians as an appropriate means to counter the unfairness imposed by gerrymanders on Democratic voters in other states. One might expect a state governor and legislature to put the rights and interests of their own constituents above national politics.[3]Notably, Spangenberger said she had no intention of redistricting during her gubernatorial campaign last year. The fact that they don’t shows how debased our current politics have become. It will only get worse as both parties continue their race to the bottom.
The additional rationalization by supporters that the proposal is only a “temporary” departure from the independent process should also be taken with a large dose of salt. As noted above, the gerrymander will remain in effect for three election cycles stretching into the next decade. The independent commission may well be viewed as an ancient relic by that time, particularly as our politics become ever more polarized and extreme. If Democrats still control the General Assembly, they will likely be inclined to extend the by-then entrenched gerrymandered districts. Conversely, if Republicans control the legislature, they will likely look for gerrymander payback and engineer their own bypass of the independent commission.
In sum, the proposal is bad for Virginia and bad for our politics in general. While some may view gerrymandering as simply politics as usual, its fundamental purpose and effect is to undercut the constitutional right to vote by devaluing the votes of American citizens based on their disfavored political views.
Here’s hoping that Virginia voters see through the deceptive marketing and reject the proposal. Failing that, the courts may put it to rest. There are several legal challenges to the process by which the proposal was enacted. The Virginia Supreme Court opted to defer a decision on the merits, if necessary, until after the April 21 special election but acknowledged that it presents “weighty assertions of invalidity.”