After millions of dollars spent on TV attack ads; numerous rallies, chicken dinners and other political fundraisers, and countless campaign phone calls to individual voters to ensure they make it to the polls to support their candidate, what has really changed in Richmond after Nov. 3?
Comparing the numbers in the House of Delegates and State Senate pre- and post-Election Day, the answer is “very little.”
All 140 seats in the two houses of the state legislature were on this year’s ballot. Heading into Nov. 3, the Republicans held a narrow 21-19 advantage in the Senate, and a commanding 67-33 edge in the House. A day later, and Republican senators still outnumber their Democratic colleagues, 21-19, while the Democrats gained a grand total of one seat in the House.
Some may take a cursory look at these numbers and conclude that voters must be happy for the most part with their representation in Richmond. But can that be true?
Others would point out that the state is split geographically between the liberal Northern Virginia/Richmond/Norfolk urban corridor and the more politically conservative rural parts of the state. And that is true. But the geographic split is exacerbated by decades of redistricting sessions guided by the party in power, with lines drawn in such a way to ensure that those in power stay there, crowding their opponent’s supporters into a few districts.
No one party is to blame. When Democrats held power, they did it. When Republicans are in control, as they are now, they follow the same pattern. The result is a series of severely gerrymandered districts where the opposing party often doesn’t bother to run.
This year, in 71 of the 100 House districts, there was only one major party candidate on the ballot. Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in just 29 of 100 districts. The race is over before it is run. And pundits wonder why voter turnout is so low!
What is needed is a redistricting process that is taken out of the political process, as much as such a thing is possible. Districts should be compact, contiguous, and drawn in such a way to preserve existing political communities. Instead, we have oddly carved out lines that, more and more, resemble Elbridge Gerry’s namesake monster. Mathews residents have only to look to their 6th Senate District to find one such example, as those voters are grouped together with parts of Virginia Beach and Norfolk, as well as the Eastern Shore.
Unfortunately, we have a while to wait before the next redistricting, which is done on the heels of every decennial U.S. Census. But we must bring pressure on our elected representatives now to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.