title
To express the Council’s support for the passage of voter redistricting reform legislation by the General Assembly of Virginia.
body
WHEREAS, on June 17, 2019, in Virginia House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, 587 U. S. ___ (2019), 139 S. Ct. 1945 (2019), the United States Supreme Court entered a final judgement dismissing the appellants’ appeal, effectively affirming the lower Court’s finding that 11 Virginia voting districts were racially gerrymandered in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and must be remedially redrawn; and
WHEREAS, OneVirginia2021, an organization advocating for fair redistricting in the Commonwealth of Virginia, holds the view that the Commonwealth’s voting districts belong to the citizens of Virginia and not to political parties or politicians and that the practice of permitting the majority political party to control voter redistricting is an outdated scheme that stifles healthy political competition and compromise; and
WHEREAS, OneVirginia2021, has advocated for the adoption of an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia that would create a bipartisan commission to draw the Commonwealth’s voting districts in an open and transparent process, using clear, objective, and well-defined redistricting criteria; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to Chapters 821 and 824 of the 2019 Acts of Assembly of Virginia, the General Assembly of Virginia proposed an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia to create a Virginia Redistricting Commission, which would be charged with the duty and authority to establish Virginia voting districts drawn in accordance with the requirements of federal and state laws that address racial and ethnic fairness using clear, objective, and well-defined criteria; and
WHEREAS, for the proposed amendment to become effective, at least one of the two joint resolutions that passed the General Assembly of Virginia during its 2019 session must pass again during the 2020 session of the General Assembly of Virginia and then be put before and approved by the electorate in the 2020 general election; and
WHEREAS, the Council believes that it is in the best interests of the citizens of the city of Richmond that the proposed amendment and any enabling legislation depoliticizing voter redistricting be enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia during its 2020 session and put before the electorate in the 2020 general election;
NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RICHMOND:
That the Council supports the passage of the proposed amendment and any enabling legislation depoliticizing voter redistricting by the General Assembly of Virginia during its 2020 session so that it may be put before the electorate in the 2020 general election.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That the Council hereby urges the General Assembly of Virginia, during its 2020 session, to enact the proposed amendment and any enabling legislation depoliticizing voter redistricting.