Sometimes government appears to move maddeningly slow. Right now, though, the machinery of Virginiaâs new redistricting process is whirring right along at an exceptionally brisk pace.
On Nov. 3, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment that takes the power of drawing new district lines out of the hands of the majority party in the General Assembly â right now Democrats â and gives it to a special commission.
This commission is, by design, evenly split between legislators and non-legislators and then evenly split again between Democrats and Republicans and split yet one more time between the House of Delegates and state Senate. In December, party leaders in each chamber appointed their eight members â two from each party in each chamber.