VCC Magazine Summer 2019

V irginia C apitol C onnections , S ummer 2019 17 Senate House Other (53/140) 47% (373/792) 47% VRA 13/20) 65% (70/108) 64.8% Uncontested House and Senate Races 2001-17 While voters in House and Senate districts across the state have had a 47% probability of voting in an uncontested legislative election, voters in the districts covered by section 2 of the VRA have had a 65% probability. That is, nearly 2/3 of the time, voters in the minority opportunity districts have no choice on Election Day. Insofar as the VRA refers specifically to electing “candidates of choice,” the single member district system in Virginia—and the gerrymandering of districts to abide by the VRA—clearly undermine the voting rights that the Act was intended to protect. A Solution Creating a redistricting commission will serve as one, small baby step in the direction of reform. But, it will not end gerrymandering. Replacing the single-member district system will. In a simulation this May at Washington and Lee, my colleague Dick Kuettner and I conducted a redistricting class in which we charged ten students (assembled into two teams) to redraw the state legislative map of Virginia using multimember districts. Their charge was to create 20 districts that would each hold two state senators and five delegates. With this system, Senate districts would no longer be cut up by Delegate districts. The second charge was to draw the districts in a manner that emphasized keeping municipal and county boundaries intact and sought to ensure that minority voting opportunities either remained the same or improved. They succeeded in two weeks. They key to ensuring that minority voters had meaningful choices on election day was to propose the use of ranked choice voting (as used in numerous municipal governments across the country) to choose among candidates. Instead of voting for one candidate, voters could simply enumerate their preferences. I will offer more specific analysis of our students’ work in my next article. For now, I offer this analysis and reform proposal for the reader’s consideration. Electoral formulae are simply algorithms. Regardless of how carefully they may be designed or implemented, they embody biases that cannot be avoided. The single-member district system is biased against meaningful voter choice.A conversion to multimember districts with ranked choice voting will ensure that all voters have meaningful choices on Election Day. It will minimize gerrymandering (and the accompanying litigation costs) and voter confusion (by eliminating split districts) and it will support the goals of theVRA by ensuring that minority voters actually have meaningful choices on Election Day. Until next time… Mark Rush, Stanley D. and Nikki Waxberg Professor of Politics and Law and Director of International Education at Washington and Lee University, writes and teaches extensively on voting rights and elections around the world, constitutional issues, and religion. His current research addresses the intersection of law, science, and religion, academic integrity, and statistical analysis of baseball. during the American Civil War. Finish your Civil War experience at the famed Appomattox Court House, located about an hour and a half from Richmond. Relive the moment where Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, marking the “beginning of the end” of the Civil War and ushering in an era of Reconstruction. The state also attracts many tourists because of its notable footprint on the path to Civil Rights. The quest for equality goes back hundreds of years, and several history-changing Black Virginians have called the Commonwealth home. Dred Scott, who made history in perhaps the most notable Supreme Court case in the nation’s history, was born into slavery in Virginia. Former slave and famed educator Booker T. Washington is also from Virginia, as well as Maggie L. Walker, who was the first American female bank president to charter a bank in the United States. She fought for the advancement of women and for African American rights, becoming a co-founder of the Richmond chapter of the NAACP. These three were just a few of the many African Americans to make an important impact on the state of Virginia. To celebrate their lives and to continue to tell their stories, many Virginia visitors travel along the Civil Right in Education Heritage Trail, a self-guided driving tour through Southside Virginia that tells the poignant story of Civil Rights in education in America. While traveling this historic trail, don’t miss stopping at the Booker T. Washington National Monument to learn about America’s most prominent African American educator, orator and influential statesman. Virginia is also home to rich music heritage, and visitors often head to the southwestern part of the state to travel along Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, The Crooked Road. Stop in Bristol to explore the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and learn about legends like the Carter Family and the Stanley Brothers, or explore Floyd Country Store in Floyd County for authentic Appalachian music and a clogging lesson. Can’t get enough of the music? Book a weekend getaway to Virginia and enjoy the various music festivals like Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Virginia Highlands Festival or FloydFest! Home to some of the nation’s most gorgeous scenic views and national parks, there is no better place to take in our nation’s history than against the backdrop of the beautiful Commonwealth. This year, we invite you to discover for yourself why Virginia is for History Lovers. Lucy Smith is a communications intern at Virginia Tourism Corporation and is a rising senior at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia studying public relations, communications, and technical writing. B ENNETT F UNERAL H OME Charles D. Morehead, Sr. Funeral Director & General Manager 3215 Cutshaw Avenue Richmond, Virginia 23221 (804) 359-4481 RADON-EASE, INC. Your One Stop Radon Resource (804) 598-5267 radonease.com • radonreporting.com Wally Dorsey, Jr. OWNER P.O. Box 6325 Richmond, VA 23230 Computerized Radon Testing Statewide, Since 1987 • NRPP and NRSB Listed Virginia is for History Lovers from page 15 V V