The Virginia Legislative Black Caucus is pushing for a second congressional district in Virginia with a high percentage of minority voters, as legislators continue to prep for a reconvened session next month to vote on new lines as part of the once-a-decade process based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
There is currently one black majority district in Virginia – the 3rd district, held by Rep. Bobby Scott — which encompasses part of Richmond and snakes down to the Hampton Roads area.
The caucus cited Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which is intended to prevent diluting minority voters. The number of minority voting districts cannot decrease in the state, so Virginia will have to maintain at least one.
Virginia is also among a handful of mostly southern states that must pre-clear its redistricting plans with the Department of Justice under the act. Worth noting: this year is the first time since the act was passed that the DOJ is under the purview of a Democratic president during the redistricting process.
Michael McDonald, a professor at George Mason University who is working with Gov. Bob McDonnell’s bipartisan redistricting commission, said the numbers likely aren’t there to create a second majority-minority congressional district in the state, but that lines could be drawn in a way to increase minority representation.
