OneVirginia2021 explained

Formation:2013
Type:Non-Profit Political Advocacy
OneVirginia2021
Location:Richmond, Virginia
Website:http://onevirginia2021.org/

OneVirginia2021 is an American civic non-profit organization founded to advocate for a non-partisan redistricting of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The group was founded in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2013 and is currently based in Richmond, Virginia.[1]

2019 Constitutional amendment

In 2018, OneVirginia2021 convened a bipartisan committee of former legislators. This committee drafted a model constitutional amendment, which was proposed to the Virginia State Assembly in the 2019 session. The proposal emphasized a separate redistricting commission, transparency and citizen participation. Many of these recommendations were included in the legislation passed in the 2019 Assembly Session.[2]

In 2019, the Virginia General Assembly passed the “first read” of a constitutional amendment, Virginia Redistricting Reform Amendment (HJ615/SJ306), that would end partisan gerrymandering in the commonwealth. This bill was passed by a vote of 83-15 in the House of Delegates and 39-1 in the Virginia Senate. The main components of this include citizen involvement, transparency, and mitigation of partisan gerrymandering. It would create a sixteen-member advisory commission and establish redistricting criteria for congressional and state legislative districts. It was passed by voters in November 2020.[3] [4]

Other efforts

On September 14, 2015, OneVirginia2021 filed a suit in Vesilind v. Virginia State Board of Elections claiming 11 Virginia state districts fail the criteria of compactness outlined by the Virginia State Constitution.[5] In an official release, OneVirginia2021 executive director Brian Cannon says, “Far from having a standard, the legislature effectively ignored the Constitution on this point, and gave us distorted, weirdly shaped districts that break up communities and rig elections by depriving voters of meaningful competition”.[6] [7] The Virginia supreme court upheld the districts.[8]

In 2015, OneVirginia2021 backed SJ 284, an independent redistricting commission with non-partisan criteria co-patroned by Virginia Senators Jill Vogel (R) and Louise Lucas (D).[9]

OneVirginia2021, in conjunction with Richmond public broadcasting station WCVE, produced a documentary film about gerrymandering. The documentary examines the historical context and consequences of gerrymandering through a multi-partisan lens.[10] The documentary is titled GerryRIGGED: Turning Democracy On Its Head and was premiered on WCVE on October 24, 2016.[11] [12] [13]

OneVirginia2021 has Local Action Groups (LAGs) across the state, which promote redistricting reform in their local regions.[14]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: About Us - OneVirginia2021. CO+LAB. OneVirginia2021. en-US. 2016-12-07. 2016-11-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20161108040617/http://onevirginia2021.org/about/. live.
  2. News: A.E. Dick Howard column: Redistricting Commission amendment is a landmark, but work remains to put it in the Virginia Constitution. 2019-03-19. Richmond.com. 2019-06-07. 2019-06-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20190607174146/https://www.richmond.com/opinion/their-opinion/guest-columnists/a-e-dick-howard-column-redistricting-commission-amendment-is-a/article_1c2a5c05-ff05-5c57-90f8-f9b5ff99bd69.html. live.
  3. Web site: The Constitutional Amendment . OneVirginia2021 . June 7, 2019 . June 7, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190607183348/https://www.onevirginia2021.org/ . live .
  4. News: Virginians approve turning redistricting over to bipartisan commission . Washington Post . November 7, 2020 . November 11, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201111032434/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/virginia-redistricting-amendment-results/2020/11/02/5d1ef242-19f8-11eb-befb-8864259bd2d8_story.html . live .
  5. News: New Lawsuit Filed Over Va. House and Senate District Boundaries. 2016-12-07. 2016-12-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220074609/http://www.nbc29.com/story/30025091/new-lawsuit-filed-over-va-house-and-senate-district-boundaries. live.
  6. News: UPDATE: The Politics of Self-Preservation. 2015-09-15. richmondmagazine.com. 2016-12-07. 2016-12-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220115714/http://richmondmagazine.com/news/news/votingmap/. live.
  7. Web site: Advocates fight in Supreme Court to end gerrymandering . The Henrico Citizen . 2018-03-05 . 2022-07-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220709220838/https://www.henricocitizen.com/articles/advocates-fight-in-supreme-court-to-end-gerrymandering/ . live .
  8. Web site: Vesilind v. Board of Elections. Justia. 2019-11-07. 2019-11-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20191107151001/https://law.justia.com/cases/virginia/supreme-court/2018/170697.html. live.
  9. Web site: Bill Tracking - 2015 session > Legislation. leg1.state.va.us. 2016-12-07. 2017-12-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201043136/http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?151+ful+SJ284S1. live.
  10. News: Documentary on Redistricting Reform Coming to WCVE PBS This Fall. Fields. Lanny. 2016-02-19. Community Idea Stations. 2016-12-07. 2016-12-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220213859/http://ideastations.org/pressroom/documentary-redistricting-reform-coming-wcve-pbs-fall. live.
  11. Web site: GerryRIGGED: Turning Democracy On Its Head. 2016-12-07. 2016-12-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20161220213917/http://ideastations.org/gerryrigged-turning-democracy-its-head. live.
  12. Web site: Documentary "Gerryrigged" conveys electoral line-drawing at its worst. And Virginia takes the spotlight. . The Virginian-Pilot . May 24, 2017 . May 25, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170525013208/http://pilotonline.com/news/local/columnist/roger-chesley/documentary-gerryrigged-conveys-electoral-line-drawing-at-its-worst-and/article_b83894b6-ff2e-54cc-9825-7a45cd350e9f.html . live .
  13. Web site: New Va. film calls for action against gerrymandering . April 2017 . The Daily Progress . Apr 1, 2017 . April 2, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170402001229/http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/new-va-film-calls-for-action-against-gerrymandering/article_a54014e9-5da8-5621-a5bb-c45e89315aaf.html . live .
  14. Web site: Local Action Groups . OneVirginia2021 . June 7, 2019 . June 7, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190607183341/https://www.onevirginia2021.org/local-action-groups/ . live .

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