GA Moves On to Congressional Redistricting

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Now that state House and Senate redistricting maps are waiting for the Governor’s approval, the General Assembly moved on to revamping Congressional districts early this week.

Congressional redistricting maps passed the House of Delegates and went to the Senate, where legislators created a different option. A third option, maps created by students during the recent redistricting contest, was also proposed and went to committee.

In the House proposal, the Historic Triangle’s representation won’t change much. Rep. Rob Wittman’s 1st district looks very much the same locally and still includes Williamsburg, York County and James City County (view the proposed maps and plan details on the state’s redistricting website).

The House map contains one minority-majority district. The Senate map, on the other hand, creates both a minority-majority district and a majority-influence district.

The Senate proposal, though, significantly alters Wittman’s representation in Triangle. District 1 would include only part of James City County, while Williamsburg and the remaining portion of James City County is moved to Del. Bobby Scott’s 3rd District. York County would be shifted to District 2, currently under Rep. Scott Rigell. View the map here (select which overlays to view).

The General Assembly recessed its special session Tuesday and is expected to reconvene April 25 to continue discussing Congressional maps. Follow state redistricting on the Virginia Public Access Project website, which offers regular updates on the process.