During its final meeting Gov. Bob McDonnell's independent advisory redistricting panel offered up a 43-page draft of suggestions for how to reform how the state's political boundaries are redrawn every ten years.
When lawmakers return to Richmond on Monday to debate the new maps they’ll have to compete with options laid in sunlight for the very first time. It offers stark contrast to lawmakers traditional closed door discussions on the decennial chore of remixing the state’s political lines to account for population changes found in the census.
“This is the first time that the voice of Virginians has been heard and put before the governor,” said Judy Ford Wason, a panel member and longtime political centrist who backed McDonnell's and Mark R. Warner’s runs for governor. “From what I read about the House and Senate maps, what we’re doing is justified.”
Here's the full report which is chock full of data on how to rework the system and how districts at the state and federal level can be built so that they are more compact and so that city and county lines are more respected in the process.
Download DraftRedistrictingReport
UPDATE: Here's the Powerpoint presentation that breaksdown the population targets for each proposal put forward by the independent commission along with demographic data - including racial makeup.
This is great - thanks so much for posting.
Posted by: Frank Leone | Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 12:28 PM
Goals determine what you are going to be.
Posted by: Nike 6.0 Shoes | Thursday, March 31, 2011 at 03:46 AM