General Assembly Updates 2018

In 2011, the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a redistricting plan designed to disadvantage Democrats by concentrating substantial numbers of African-American voters into fewer districts, thereby diluting their strength in other surrounding districts. After years of court arguments generated by a lawsuit brought by citizens in the most affected eleven districts, that plan has now been ruled unconstitutional and, in an opinion issued June 26, 2018, the court directed the General Assembly to redraw the districts.  Since that date, the Republican majority has been unwilling to engage with Democrats in developing a plan to address the Constitutional problem.  In mid-July and again in August, I wrote to the Speaker of the House to request that we act to create a new plan.  In August, the court asked the Republican Majority to indicate their intention about drawing a new plan.  The majority response has been both to ignore my letters and to provide no commitment to the court about any intention to produce a plan.  Consequently, Gov. Northam called the General Assembly into a Special Session on August 30, 2018, and the House Democratic Caucus produced and introduced a plan of its own designed to address the Constitutional infirmities of the 2011 bill.  As of this date, the Republicans have not introduced a plan of their own to remedy these problems. [Read more…]