Gerrymandering endures, thanks to the General Assembly

What if the General Assembly could do something that would save Virginia money and put at least a pinprick in the cynicism that shrouds state and national politics?

They can, in fact, do that. They just don’t want to.

Virginia is by some accounts the fifth-most gerrymandered state in the union. Our state legislators draw General Assembly and congressional districts with an eye on politics. Data tell them how even the smallest neighborhood votes. They use that data in drawing boundaries, even if it means splitting precincts and making for awkwardly shaped districts.

Gerrymandering is why Del. Steve Landes, R-Weyers Cave, has a few Albemarle County precincts in his district, and Del. Rob Bell, R-Charlottesville, has a few Rockingham precincts in his.

Gerrymandering is why Republicans heavily dominate the state’s congressional delegation despite losing a succession of statewide elections.

Democrats gerrymander, too, of course. They did it for years when they had the majority in Richmond. They’re still doing in Maryland, a state even more chopped up than Virginia.

It is ugly, no matter who does it. Voters are supposed to choose their representatives, not the other way around.

The point of ending gerrymandering — something we are passionate about, having written four editorials on in 10 months — is not merely to even the playing field and make more competitive districts. That would happen with nonpartisan redistricting, giving us better voter turnout and a more representative and responsive legislature. Gridlock would loosen. More would get done.

But the larger point is that having the General Assembly draw its own districts is an inherent conflict of interest.

Having an independent commission or computer program draw compact, fair districts would still result in a majority for one party or the other. But the districts would be fairly drawn, with no political data used to shift boundaries.

The General Assembly could fix this. They just won’t.

The Virginia constitution gives them redistricting authority. Amending that constitution is a lengthy process that would have to begin in the General Assembly.

State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Millboro, has often introduced anti-gerrymandering legislation, but it tends to die in subcommittees with no recorded up-or-down votes. Some believe that if the full General Assembly had to vote to end gerrymandering, they just might because enough of them know it’s the right thing to do and don’t want to go public being pro-cheating, because that’s what gerrymandering is. Cheating. Unfortunately, the subcommittees provide good cover for cheating cowards.

The state’s ethics panel has recommended an independent commission draw the boundaries. The General Assembly could agree to this and give themselves final say over the new district lines. That would be constitutional.

But they won’t. They want their own fingers in the pot from the start. They want to pick their voters and keep their incumbent protection plans.

Some members of the General Assembly say gerrymandering is a partisan issue, with only the minority party caring. This is false.

Some will tell you voters don’t care about gerrymandering. That might be true because as we see election after election, most voters don’t care enough to vote. And why should they bother in uncompetitive districts?

Make no mistake, though. Gerrymandering matters. More than 70 percent of Virginians know this and are in favor of ending it. They just aren’t passionate enough to hold the General Assembly’s feet to the fire.

Yet.

It might help to know that ending gerrymandering would save the state hundreds of thousands of dollars. In recent years, the commonwealth has spent more than $300,000 in legal fees racked up in lawsuits funded by a national Democrat group.

So long as there is gerrymandering, there will be lawsuits. When it ends, there might be lawsuits to bring it back.

The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this week ruled against Arizona legislators who were unhappy with boundaries drawn by an independent commission in that state. Voters there used an initiative (something not available to Virginians) to bypass their legislature and create the independent commission. The legislators basically took their voters to court.

The right side — the voters — won. That could happen here in Virginia. One of the lawsuits could end in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Or the General Assembly could do the right thing and participate in ending gerrymandering. We’re not holding our breaths for that outcome.

We do, though, believe that gerrymandering will one day end, even in Virginia. The General Assembly can stop a lot of progress. But they cannot stop it all. Recent news events have shown us that.

Our View represents the opinion of the newspaper’s editorial board, Roger Watson, president and publisher; David Fritz, executive editor; and Deona Landes Houff, community conversations editor.