The Democratic Party of Virginia recommends a No vote on Amendment 1. The inspiration behind the amendment is certainly valid: to prevent overly partisan redistricting, but the amendment may not achieve what it seeks. The amendment would take redistricting out of the General Assembly’s hands, but if the bipartisan redistricting committee is unable to act, the power would shift to the Supreme Court – which at present has a majority of Republican-leaning appointees. The amendment would not only give the Republicans current unearned power, it would also risk further politicizing Virginia’s judiciary – and we don’t need our Supreme Court to resemble the over-politicized Washington version
Virginians should want to reduce partisanship in redistricting, but Amendment 1 would only succeed in spreading it to our judges and justices. Please Vote No on Amendment 1