Tuesday, December 28, 2021 the Supreme Court of Virginia signed off on new legislative maps.

• Overview
• US Congress
• VA Senate
• VA House

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OVERVIEW

AP News: "In an order, the court said it had reviewed final redistricting maps — which were put together by two court appointees called special masters — as well as extensive public comment on earlier draft maps.

The once-a-decade redrawing of political maps had fallen to the court after a newly created bipartisan redistricting commission failed to agree on maps for either Congress or the General Assembly."

Effective Dates

WTOP: "The order says the districts will be effective with the 2022 election for the U.S. House of Representatives. The General Assembly seats would be effective with primary and general elections for the 2023 election.

A lawsuit seeking to force a 2022 special election for General Assembly seats using the new districts is being considered in state courts. However, a ruling has not been issued."

Supreme Court of Virginia, redistricting final order:

(1) The Final Redistricting Maps and Final Memorandum prepared by the Special Masters and posted on the Supreme Court's public website at Supreme Court of Virginia Final Order and Approved Maps are incorporated herein by reference and are approved and adopted and, effective immediately, the Final Redistricting Maps shall constitute and establish the voting districts for the Virginia House of Delegates, the Senate of Virginia, and for Virginia's representatives to the United States House of Representatives;

(2) The State Board of Elections and the Virginia Department of Elections shall immediately implement the voting districts established by the Final Redistricting Maps to ensure that the 2022 Congressional elections, and any future regular primary or general elections that may be held for the Virginia Senate, Virginia House of Delegates, and Congress will proceed as scheduled. Any further use of current voting districts as set forth in Virginia Code§§ 24.2-304.03 (House of Delegates districts), 24.2-303.3 (Senate districts), and 24.2-302.2 (Congressional districts) for any regular primary or general election is prohibited. For any special elections that may be scheduled before the next regular primary or general election for the Virginia Senate, Virginia House of Delegates or United States House of Representatives, the State Board of Elections, and the Virginia Department of Elections will need to determine whether, under the particular circumstances presented, the Final Redistricting Maps should be used.

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Cardinal News: So did this new redistricting process work or not? A first look at the winners and losers in the new redistricting maps. "These maps appear to inconvenience both parties, just in different places and different ways."

"[the court]fiddled with a few lines, putting Craig County back into the 9th – “increasing the number of Virginia’s Appalachian counties placed in the 9th,” the special masters wrote – in return for moving some Roanoke County precincts into the 6th. But it left Salem, and Griffith, in the same district as Cline. Mathematically, this was almost inevitable. The special masters said they wanted to avoid crossing the Blue Ridge."

"The law doesn’t require [US] House members to live in their district, merely in their state. When Griffith first ran for Congress in 2010, Salem wasn’t in the 9th District. Voters sure didn’t seem to care then. Griffith could easily stay right where he is and keep on running in the 9th. "

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Herald Courier: Southwest Virginia to lose a delegate seat via redistricting. "... Southwest Virginia will lose another House of Delegates seat due to declining population, with Del. Will Wampler, R-Abingdon, former 4th District being redistributed."

"Another major change will be the district numbering systems in both the [Virginia] House and Senate. Rather than House districts 1, 3, and the like, Southwest Virginia is now in the middle of the 100-district numbering system, which begins in Northern Virginia, moves down the state and then goes eastward winding up at the coast."

Virginia Constitution, Article IV. Section 4. Section 4. Qualifications of senators and delegates: General Assembly members must be a resident of their district.

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US CONGRESS

Cardinal News: Supreme Court approves redistricting map that pairs Cline and Griffith. "The court reshaped some districts in eastern Virginia but left largely untouched the maps that put Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith in the same district."

"The most significant changes to the congressional maps appear to be in the Richmond area and Northern Virginia."

Herald Courier: Morgan Griffith to run for reelection.

VPAP.org:

• No current representatives reside within the boundaries of the redrawn district, including the current representative, Morgan Griffith (R-9).
• The partisanship of the 9th U.S. House district would become slightly less conservative.
• The district will remain >+20R.

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VA SENATE

VPAP.org: NEW SD7 (current SD19)

• The current senator, Dave Suetterlein (R-19), does not reside within the boundaries of the redrawn district.
• The partisanship of the Senate district would become slightly more conservative.
• The district will remain >+20R.
• 2016 Presidential Results: Donald Trump 68.50%, Hillary Clinton 27.80%

VPAP.org: Population distribution, which localities do people in this district live in? A table showing the share of the district's population by locality.

Locality Total Population             % of District
Franklin County 54,477  25.1%
Henry County    50,948  23.5%
Carroll County   29,155  13.4%
Patrick County   17,608  8.1%
Floyd County     15,476  7.1%
Grayson County 15,333  7.1%
Wythe County   13,776  6.4%
Martinsville City             13,485  6.2%
Galax City          6,720    3.1%

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VA HOUSE

VPAP.org: NEW HD47 (current HD7)

• Delegate-Elect Marie March (R-HD7) is one of 2 current delegates that reside within the boundaries of the redrawn district.
• The partisanship of the House district would become more conservative.
• The district will remain >+20R.
• 2016 Presidential Results: Donald Trump 73.20%, Hillary Clinton 23.10%

Blue Virginia: Many new Virginia General Assembly districts have incumbents doubled or tripled up, and in Floyd County the new HD47 has Delegates-elect Wren Williams (R) and Marie March (R) paired up. Of the voting age population, 23,947 come from Williams’ district, while just 12,402 come from March’s district (plus 23,710 from Del. Ronnie Campbell’s current district).

VPAP.org: Population distribution, which localities do people in this district live in? A table showing the share of the district's population by locality.

Locality Total Population             % of District
Carroll County   29,155  34.5%
Patrick County   17,608  20.9%
Henry County    15,500  18.4%
Floyd County     15,476  18.3%
Galax City          6,720    8.0%

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• Virginia Public Access Project, Redistricting (VPAP.org) -- overview, latest activity, maps
• Virginia Redistricting Commission (virginiaredistricting.org)
• Democracy Docket, Redistricting Rundown: Virginia (@Marc Elias)
• Wikipedia, 2020 United States redistricting cycle

• December 28, 2021: The Supreme Court of Virginia signed off on new legislative maps.
• December 8, 2021: The two special masters appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court released map drafts for state legislative and congressional districts.
• November 19, 2021: The court unanimously approved two of the nominees: Sean Trende, who was the Republican special master nominee, and Bernard Grofman, who was the Democratic nominee.
• November 15, 2021: The court granted a three-day extension for legislators to make new special master nominations.
• November 12, 2021: The court rejected all three Republican nominees and one Democratic nominee for special master and requested that legislators submit new nominations by November 15.
• November 8, 2021: The commission did not produce congressional maps by the final deadline, and authority to redraw congressional districts passed to the Virginia Supreme Court.
• October 24, 2021: The Virginia Redistricting Commission did not produce final state legislative by its October 24, 2021 deadline, and the authority to draw new district maps passed to the Virginia Supreme Court.
• October 15, 2021: The commission released two statewide congressional map proposals on October 14, 2021, and another on October 15.
• October 13, 2021: U.S. District Judge David Novak ruled court challenge to the November House of Delegates elections could move forward and appointed two other judges, Fourth Circuit Judge Stephanie Thacker and U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson, to hear the case.
• October 10, 2021:The Virginia Redistricting Commission did not meet the October 10 deadline to submit state legislative maps to the General Assembly. If the commission does not reconvene to draft maps, the authority to create new state legislative districts passes to the Virginia Supreme Court.
• September 27, 2021: Democrat and Republican map drawers submitted a collaborative statewide map proposal for consideration to the commission.
• September 23, 2021: The Virginia Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit challenging how inmates are counted.
• September 18, 2021: Democrat and Republican map drawers each submitted statewide map proposals for consideration to the commission.
• September 16, 2021: The commission voted to restrict its map drawers from looking at political data or incumbents' residences while drafting maps of General Assembly and congressional districts.
• September 16, 2021: The U.S. Census Bureau released data from the 2020 census in an easier-to-use format to state redistricting authorities and the public.
• September 13, 2021: The commission dropped the regional approach to map drafting in favor of drafting statewide maps.
• September 8, 2021: State Sen. Bill Stanley (R) replaced Steve Newman (R) on the commission.
• September 4, 2021: State Sen. Steve Newman (R) announced his resignation from the commission.
• August 24, 2021: The commission announced that a member had tested positive for COVID-19 and that it would not hold its next scheduled meeting on August 30.
• August 23, 2021: The commission voted 12-4 to redraw district maps from scratch rather than using the current maps as a guide.
• August 17, 2021: The commission voted to allow political data and incumbents’ home addresses to be considered throughout the map-drawing process.
• August 16, 2021: The commission voted to officially start the state’s redistricting process on August 26, 2021.
• August 13, 2021: Six county supervisors and State Sen. Travis Hackworth (R) filed a lawsuit against the commission asking the Supreme Court of Virginia to intervene in the commission's plans to count prisoners at their last known address instead of where they are currently incarcerated.
• August 12, 2021: The U.S. Census Bureau delivered redistricting data to states in a legacy format.
• July 6, 2021: Paul Goldman (D) filed a complaint with the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia arguing that holding the November 2021 House elections with districts drawn in 2010 violates Virginia’s Constitution and the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
• June 7, 2021: The commission decided against a proposal to hire nonpartisan counsel, instead opting to hire two sets of partisan attorneys.
• April 26, 2021: The U.S. Census Bureau delivered apportionment counts.