House Democrats yesterday forced two votes of the full House Privileges and Elections Committee on Senate redistricting reform measures – both of which were killed by the committee’s Republicans in a party-line vote.
Del. Marcia “Cia” Price moved to report SJ 231 and SJ 290 to the floor of the House for a full floor vote. Both measures were killed in the Republican-controlled Elections Subcommittee on Tuesday. However, legislation can be revived in the rare event that a member of the full committee moves to report.
“It’s time for us to do the right thing,” said Price during the committee meeting. “The citizens have told us that more than seventy percent of them are for redistricting reform, and we on this committee do not represent seventy percent of constituents. It is time for it to be heard on the House floor, for all of the House members to have a vote.”
“Virginia is one of the most gerrymandered states in the nation, and House Republicans just voted to keep it that way” said House Democratic Leader David J. Toscano. “Voters should be able to choose their representatives, not the other way around. A system in which legislators can draw opponents out of districts is nothing short of rigged.”
“House Republicans today voted against two reform measures that passed the Senate with bipartisan support,” said Caucus Chair Charniele Herring. “This fundamental issue of the franchise should not be decided by twenty-two people sitting on a committee. We renew our call to Speaker Howell for a full floor vote.”
SJ 231, sponsored by Sen. Emmett Hanger and Sen. Glen Sturtevant, would have created a redistricting commission and established criteria for that commission to use when drawing lines.
SJ 290, sponsored by Sen. Jill Vogel and Sen. Janet Howell, would have amended the constitution to ban the drawing of district lines to favor or disfavor any political party.
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