Updates on the redistricting commission!

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Virginia’s nonpartisan redistricting commission is moving quickly. They’ve already gotten and posted proposed maps for House of Delegates and State Senate districts from both Republican and Democratic consultants, which you can see courtesy of the ever-commendable Virginia Public Access Project. Maps for national Congressional districts are coming soon.

Here’s a quick rundown on how those maps shake out thus far:

  • The maps we’ve had since 2011 slice Albemarle into four chunks.
  • The Republican consultant wants to carve Albemarle up into three House of Delegates districts: one solidly Dem, one solidly GOP, and one theoretically competitive. This plan certainly seems to violate the Commission’s guidelines for redistricting, which include keeping communities and political subdivisions together.
  • The Democratic consultant wants to divide Albemarle into two districts, one solidly Democratic, and one narrowly Democratic (and likely competitive). This proposal does a much better job of giving Albemarle fair representation in the House of Delegates.
  • Both consultants propose a solidly Democratic state Senate district that incorporates Albemarle, though each suggests different boundaries.
We’ll have more info on the new maps next week. For now, check out the new maps at VPAP, learn more about those maps via the “Plan Lookup” section on VPAP’s site, and send the Commission public comments on the plans. (Something seems a bit funky with the Commission’s website when we test that last link, but hopefully, it’ll be fixed by the time this reaches your inbox.)

And buckle up, ’cause things are gonna move fast: The commission has to send maps to the General Assembly by Oct. 10.