Virginia's congressional districts

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Virginia's congressional districts since 2017

Virginia is currently divided into 11 congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. The districts were redrawn most recently in 2016 by court order.

Current districts and representatives[]

List of members of the Virginian United States House delegation, their terms, their district boundaries, and the districts' political rating according to the CPVI. The delegation has a total of 11 members, with 7 Democrats and 4 Republicans as of 2018. The 3rd and 4th districts of Virginia have been redrawn by U.S. District Court order and sustained by the Supreme Court on appeal. See map above for the current boundaries of these districts.

District Representative Party CPVI Incumbency District map
1st Rob Wittman 116th Congress.jpg Rob Wittman (R-Montross) Republican R+6 December 11, 2007 – present Virginia's 1st congressional district (since 2017).png
2nd Elaine Luria 116th Congress.jpg Elaine Luria (D-Norfolk) Democratic R+1 January 3, 2019 – present Virginia's 2nd Congressional District (since 2017).png
3rd Bobby Scott 116th Congress.jpg Bobby Scott (D-Newport News) Democratic D+16 January 3, 1993 – present Virginia US Congressional District 3 (since 2016).png
4th Donald McEachin 116th Congress.jpg Donald McEachin (D-Richmond) Democratic D+10 January 3, 2017 – present Virginia's 4th congressional district (since 2017).png
5th Bob Good 117th U.S Congress.jpg Bob Good (R-Evington) Republican R+7 January 3, 2021 – present Virginia US Congressional District 5 (since 2013).tif
6th Ben Cline 116th Congress.jpg Ben Cline (R-Fincastle) Republican R+14 January 3, 2019 – present Virginia US Congressional District 6 (since 2013).tif
7th Abigail Spanberger 116th Congress.jpg Abigail Spanberger (D-Glen Allen) Democratic R+3 January 3, 2019 – present 2016 VA7 district map.jpg
8th Don Beyer 116th Congress.jpg Don Beyer (D-Alexandria) Democratic D+27 January 3, 2015 – present Virginia US Congressional District 8 (since 2013).tif
9th Morgan Griffith 116th Congress.jpg Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) Republican R+23 January 3, 2011 – present Virginia US Congressional District 9 (since 2013).tif
10th Jennifer Wexton 116th Congress.jpg Jennifer Wexton (D-Leesburg) Democratic D+6 January 3, 2019 – present Virginia US Congressional District 10 (since 2013).tif
11th Gerry Connolly 116th Congress.jpg Gerry Connolly (D-Fairfax) Democratic D+19 January 3, 2009 – present Virginia US Congressional District 11 (since 2013).tif

Historical background[]

Apportionment[]

The apportionment of seats for the House of Representatives between the states is determined following each census. The number of seats to which Virginia has been entitled is as follows:

1789 1790 1800
10[1] 19 22
1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900
23 22 21 15 13 11 9[2] 10 10 10
1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
10 10 9 9 10 10 10 10 11 11
2010
11

List of former and current districts[]

District boundaries 1973-2017[]

Table of United States congressional district boundary maps in the State of Virginia, are presented chronologically below for the most recent iterations following the redistricting of the 1960s, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that congressional and state legislative districts had to satisfy the one man, one vote criteria for equal representation. The state legislature had long delayed redistricting, leading to outsize influence by rural districts and under-representation of urban areas.[4] All redistricting events that took place in Virginia between 1973 and 2013 are shown.

Year Statewide map Norfolk highlight
1973–1982 United States Congressional Districts in Virginia, 1973 – 1982.tif United States Congressional Districts in Virginia (metro highlight), 1973 – 1982.tif
1983–1992 United States Congressional Districts in Virginia, 1983 – 1992.tif United States Congressional Districts in Virginia (metro highlight), 1983 – 1992.tif
1993–1994 United States Congressional Districts in Virginia, 1993 – 1994.tif United States Congressional Districts in Virginia (metro highlight), 1993 – 1994.tif
1995–1998 United States Congressional Districts in Virginia, 1995 – 1998.tif United States Congressional Districts in Virginia (metro highlight), 1995 – 1998.tif
1999–2002 United States Congressional Districts in Virginia, 1999 – 2002.tif United States Congressional Districts in Virginia (metro highlight), 1999 – 2002.tif
2003–2013 United States Congressional Districts in Virginia, 2003 – 2013.tif United States Congressional Districts in Virginia (metro highlight), 2003 – 2013.tif
2013–2017 United States Congressional Districts in Virginia, since 2013.tif United States Congressional Districts in Virginia (metro highlight), since 2013.tif

Gerrymandering[]

Virginia was one of the most gerrymandered states in the country, both on the congressional and state levels, based on lack of compactness and contiguity of its districts.[citation needed] Virginia pre-2016 congressional districts were ranked the 5th worst in the country by one analysis[5] because counties and cities were broken into multiple pieces to create heavily partisan districts.[6][unreliable source?]

Virginia's congressional districts did not meet the "competitive" mark of a 5% margin of victory, but they averaged a margin of 35%, comparable to the national district statistical average of all 435 districts. Districts 10 and 11 in northern Virginia and the 2nd in the Hampton Roads ranged between 16 and 18%. Virginia, like the nation as a whole, had about 73% of its delegation winning by a margin of 20% or more. Districts 4, 7, 5, 1 and 8 ranged from 22 to 32%, and three outliers had a margin of victory of more than 50%: the 9th district at 48%, the 6th district at 62%, and the 3rd district at 89%.[7]

Reform efforts[]

The Redistricting Coalition of Virginia recommended reforms, including either an independent commission or a bipartisan commission that is not polarized. Member organizations include the League of Women Voters of Virginia, AARP of Virginia, OneVirginia2021 , the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and Virginia Organizing.[8]

The Independent Bipartisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting for the Commonwealth of Virginia made its report on April 1, 2011. It made recommendations for both state legislative and congressional district redistricting, detailing three options for congressional districts, all improving on the 2001 congressional map by reducing the number of split jurisdictions, defining three districts in the DC metro northern Virginia area, and increasing compactness in each district. In accordance with the Voting Rights Act, it maintained one majority African-American district without packing to dilute community influence in other districts.[9]

In 2011, the Virginia College and University Redistricting Competition was organized by professors Michael McDonald of George Mason University and Quentin Kidd of Christopher Newport University. About 150 students on sixteen teams from thirteen schools submitted plans for legislative and U.S. congressional districts. The winning submissions for the congressional redistricting were from the University of Virginia and from the College of William and Mary. The "Division 1" maps conformed to the Governor's Executive Order, and did not address electoral competition or representational fairness. In addition to the criteria of contiguity, equi-population, the federal Voting Rights Act, and communities of interest in the existing city and county boundaries, "Division 2" maps in the competition did incorporate considerations of electoral competition and representational fairness. Judges for the cash award prizes were Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution and Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute. They also created districts more compact than the General Assembly's earlier efforts.[10]

In January 2015, Republican State Senator Jill Holtzman Vogel of the 27th district and Democratic State Senator Louise Lucas of the 18th district sponsored a Senate Joint Resolution to establish additional criteria for the Virginia Redistricting Commission of four identified members of political parties, and three other independent public officials. The criteria began with respecting existing political boundaries, such as cities and towns, counties and magisterial districts, election districts and voting precincts. Districts are to be established on the basis of population, in conformance with federal and state laws and court cases, including those addressing racial fairness. The territory is to be contiguous and compact, without oddly shaped boundaries. The commission is prohibited from using political data or election results to favor either political party or incumbent. It passed with a two-thirds majority of 27 to 12 in the Senate, and was referred to committee in the House of Delegates.[11]

In November 2020, Virginia's ballot question #1, a constitutional amendment, moved the power to draw legislative districts to a 16-member bipartisan commission made up of eight legislators and eight citizens.[12][13]

2016 redistricting[]

The redistricting of congressional districts prepared by the Virginia legislature, the Virginia General Assembly, in 2012 was used in the 2014 elections. The redistricting was found unconstitutional and replaced with a court-ordered redistricting on January 16, 2016, before the 2016 elections.[14][15][16][17][18] Gloria Personhuballah and James Farkas claimed that Virginia's 3rd congressional district violated the Voting Rights Act by packing black voters into the district for the political purpose of making surrounding areas better for Republican candidates. Following Supreme Court precedent, the Eastern Virginia Circuit Court found that U.S. congressional districts cannot be gerrymandered by race for partisan gain. In this case, the twisting non-contiguous 3rd district hopped the James River in several places and divided multiple locality boundaries, resulting in 89% majorities for black Representative Bobby Scott (D) while surrounding Republican incumbents enjoyed majorities of 16–24%. Subsequent appeals by Republican lawmakers to the Supreme Court were unsuccessful.[19][7]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Represents apportionment assigned by the U.S. Constitution in 1789 until the first U.S. Census.
  2. ^ West Virginia was formed out of portions of Virginia in 1863.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j k US Census. "My Congressional District (estimates)". US Census. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  4. ^ "Digital Boundary Definitions of United States Congressional Districts, 1789–2012". Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  5. ^ Kurilla, Brian (25 September 2017). "Which States Have the Worst Congressional Gerrymandering in the Country?". Stronger NC.
  6. ^ "One Virginia 2021". onevirginia2021.org. OneVirginia2021. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Redistricting in Virginia". ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. On June 17, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its ruling in Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, finding that the state House, helmed by Republicans, lacked standing to appeal a lower court order striking down the original legislative district plan as a racial gerrymander.
  8. ^ the virginia redistricting coalition viewed October 13, 2016.
  9. ^ The Public Interest in Redistricting Bob Holsworth, Chair for the Independent Bipartisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting, Commonwealth of Virginia, April 1, 2011, p.22-27.
  10. ^ The Public Interest in Redistricting Bob Holsworth, Chair for the Independent Bipartisan Advisory Commission on Redistricting, Commonwealth of Virginia, April 1, 2011, p.9-10
  11. ^ "SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 284 AMENDMENT IN THE NATURE OF A SUBSTITUTE (Proposed by the Senate Committee on Privileges and Elections on January 20, 2015) (Patrons Prior to Substitute—Senators Vogel and Lucas [SJR 224])". Virginia Senate Joint Resolution of January 20, 2015. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019.
  12. ^ [1]
  13. ^ [2]
  14. ^ "Court Ordered Redistricting". Archived from the original on June 5, 2016.
  15. ^ Personnhuballah v. Alcorn, 1 (United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia January 7, 2016) ("Finding that the balance of equities favors implementing a remedy for the constitutional violation previously found, it is hereby ORDERED that: (1) the INTERVENOR-DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO SUSPEND FURTHER PROCEEDINGS AND TO MODIFY INJUNCTION PENDING SUPREME COURT REVIEW is denied (ECF No. 270); (2) Plan 16 as referenced in the Report of the Special Master (ECF No. 272), and attached to this Order as Appendix A (available at http://redistricting.dls.virginia.gov/2010/court-ordered-redistricting.aspx) is adopted; and (3) the Defendants shall promptly implement Plan 16 so that the 2016 election for the House of Representatives can proceed as scheduled.").
  16. ^ Weaver, Dustin (21 March 2016). "Supreme Court weighs legality of Virginia redistricting". thehill.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  17. ^ Ruger, Todd (1 February 2016). "Supreme Court Allows Virginia Redistricting to Stand in 2016". Retrieved 7 April 2018 – via www.rollcall.com.
  18. ^ Times-Dispatch, ANDREW CAIN Richmond. "Judges impose new Va. congressional map, redrawing 3rd, 4th Districts". richmond.com. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  19. ^ Wheeler, Lydia (March 21, 2016). "Supreme Court weighs legality of Virginia redistricting". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 20, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2020.

External links[]

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