“I would say we tried and it was a first for the commonwealth of Virginia, but this isn’t working,” Harris said, adding that the bureaucracy and a partisan structure won out.
Though discussions seem fundamentally split on party lines, the commission actually managed to agree on something: It will not meet again, unless the two co-chairs decide a meeting is worthwhile. Redistricting meetings and public hearings scheduled for this week have been canceled, the committee website shows.
“Just hearing us today, we’re spinning our wheels,” said Sean Kumar, a citizen member on the commission. “There are good intentions on both sides, but it doesn’t change where we are.”
Nicholas Goedert, an assistant professor of political science at Virginia Tech, agreed during a phone call on Wednesday that the commission’s setup likely hasn’t served it favorably.
“Commissions in other states have tended to be very successful, but those have tended to be much more nonpartisan,” Goedert said. “They don’t include sitting state legislators.”
Half of the redistricting commission consists of elected members from the Virginia General Assembly, while the other eight are citizen appointees. The commission has eight Republicans and eight Democrats, mathematically setting up the decision-making process to be hung on split votes.
