Advocates for weakening the clout of state legislators to control how Virginia draws its legislative and congressional districts said Sunday there’s greater public interests in reforms, but time is running short before the next redistricting. Speaking at a forum before about 80 people in the Unitarian Church of Norfolk, Brian Cannon, executive director of OneVirginia2021, said there’s a growing sentiment that party politics and legislators worried about their own elections have too much sway over redistricting decisions.
Cannon, who heads a coalition pushing for a constitutional amendment to weaken partisan influence, said while the next redistricting isn’t until 2021, the process of changing the rules has to begin years earlier.
In this case, the General Assembly would have to approve a proposed amendment twice – first during its 2019 session and again in early 2020.
The amendment would be put before voters as a referendum in the November 2020 election.
Full Article: Redistricting proponents say public support is growing | Virginia Politics | pilotonline.com.