Virginia House of Delegates
Below you'll find my alternative to the Virginia State House of Delegates district map. My version displays a better way of keeping together communities of interest, while respecting political and geographical boundaries. Drawing the actual map using DRA was not practical, therefore only images of my version are presented. The district numbering keeps to the previous numbering as closely as possible.
Eastern 21, 64, 76-85, 89-96, 98-100
The 21st district is a competitive district in Virginia Beach along its border with Chesapeake. It voted for McCain by 11 votes and for Romney by about 2% in 2012; its PVI is R+1. The 64th is somewhat competitive, having voted for McCain by 8% and for Romney by 9%, but has an R+8 PVI. This district includes much of Prince George and most of Southampton counties, all of Isle of Wight and Surry counties, the city of Franklin and a small part of the city of Suffolk. The rest of Suffolk goes into the 76th district, a solidly Democratic district with a D+7 PVI and large Black voting bloc at 42% VAP. The R+19 77th district consists mostly of the outlying parts of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach. The 78th is a competitive district in Chesapeake, with a D+3 PVI, having voted for Obama by 8% in both 2008 and 2012. District 79 is drawn to elect a Black representative. It's mostly Black and has a plurality Black VAP. The district is most of the city of Portsmouth and has a D+17 PVI. The 80th, another district drawn to elect a Black representative, takes what remains of Chesapeake and Portsmouth. Both total and voting age populations are plurality Black; its PVI is D+19. The 81st is an R+11 district that's comprised of most of the land area of Virginia Beach, centered in the central and eastern parts of the city including much of its shoreline. The 82nd is an R+12 northeastern Virginia Beach district. The 83rd is a D+8 district in northern Norfolk. The 84th is a D+7 district in central Virginia Beach west of Naval Air Station Oceana and the 85th, west of that is a D+6 district entirely in the city. The 89th is a mostly Black district on the western side of Norfolk; the 90th is a mostly Black district on the eastern side of Norfolk. Their respective PVIs are D+27 and D+23. The 91st is a plurality Black district that's made up of much of Hampton and part of Newport News. It has a D+18 PVI. The 92nd takes the rest of Hampton, and is also a plurality Black district with a D+17 PVI. The 93rd consists of Williamsburg and nearly all of James City. It's a competitive district having voted for McCain by 4% and for Romney by 6%, and it has an R+3 PVI. The 94th is a plurality White District, with mostly White VAP, in Newport News, and it has a D+12 PVI. The 95th is D+15, plurality Black district that takes the rest of Newport News. The R+14 96th district combines a small piece of James City with Poquoson and York. The 98th is a solidly Republican district, R+17 PVI, in the Tidewater area and is made from Gloucester, King and Queen, King William, Mathews, and Middlesex counties. North of that, the 99th is an R+9 district that's made from part of Essex County and all of King George, Lancaster, Northumberland, Richmond, and Westmoreland counties. Finally, the 100th is an R+3 swing district that barely voted for Obama in 2008 and barely for Romney in 2012. This district combines part of Virginia Beach with Accomack and Northampton counties.
Piedmont 9, 14, 16, 22, 23, 25, 30, 54, 55, 57-61, 65, 75, 88
The 9th district is comprised of parts of Carroll and Henry counties, as well as Floyd and Patrick counties; its PVI is R+20. The 14th is a newly competitive D+4 district that combines the cities of Dansville and Martinsville via Henry and Pittsylvania counties. This district has a large Black voting bloc at 39% VAP and voted for Obama by 13% in 2008 and in 2016. The 16th district takes the rest of Pittsylvania County and part of Franklin County, giving it an R+17 PVI. The 22nd, an R+22 district, takes the rest of Franklin County and much of Bedford County. The 23rd district now consolidates the city of Lynchburg and includes part of Campbell County, giving it an R+8 PVI. The 25th, based in the Charlottesville metro area, is a D+6 district that is made up of most of Albemarle County, Nelson County, and a small part of Buckingham County. The 30th combines much of Culpepper County, with Greene, Madison, and Rapphannock counties, and has an R+13 PVI. The 54th takes the rest of Culpepper County, parts of Fauquier and Spotsylvania counties, as well as Orange County; its PVI is R+13. The R+8 55th district consists of parts of Essex, Hanover, and Spotsylvania counties via Caroline County. The 57th takes the rest of Albemarle County and the city of Charlottesville; its PVI is D+18. The 58th is Fluvanna, Goochland, and Louisa counties and has an R+11 PVI. The 59th is an R+22 district that takes in parts of Bedford and Campbell counties along with Amherst and Appomattox counties. The 60th district combines the remainder of Campbell County, part of, Charlotte County, and all of Halifax County, with an R+16 PVI. The 61st takes the remainder of Charlotte County along with all of Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, and Prince Edward counties. It's a competitive district with an R+5 PVI, having voted for McCain by about 1% and for Romney by 2%. The 65th district combines the remainder of Buckingham County with Amelia, Cumberland, Nottoway, and Powhatan counties; its PVI is R+15. The 75th is a D+4 district capable of electing a Black representative. Both the total and voting age populations are 49% Black, and the district voted for Obama by about 16% in 2008 and in 2012. The district is made from part of Southampton County, all of Brunswick, Dinwiddie, Greensville, and Sussex counties, as well as the city of Emporia. Finally, the 88th is a newly competitive district created by keeping Fredericksburg whole and including the immediate areas in Spotsylvania County, giving it a D+1 PVI, and it voted for Obama by about 7% in 2008 and by 4% in 2012.
Richmond 27, 56, 62, 63, 66, 68-74, 97
In Chesterfield County, the 27th is a D+7 district within the Richmond beltway. The 56th district, at R+9, combines part of Hanover County with part of Henrico County. The 62nd is a competitive district with an Even PVI in Chesterfield County, having voted for Obama by about 1% in 2008 and in 2012. The 63rd is a mostly Black district with a D+17 PVI, that combines the cities of Hopewell and Petersburg via much of Prince George County. The 66th consists of Colonial Heights and much of Chesterfield County south of the Beltway, and it has an R+12 PVI. The 68th is another R+12 district in Chesterfield County. The 69th, 70th, 71st, and 74th are drawn to elect Black representatives. The 69th and 70th are kept within Richmond, the 71st combines part of the city with part of Henrico County, and the 74th takes much of Henrico County, part of Chesterfield County, and Charles City. Their respective PVIs are D+36, D+34, D+25, and D+14. The 72nd is an R+6 district that takes a piece of Richmond and part of Henrico County south of I-64. The 73rd is a D+7 district in Henrico County. Finally, the 97th combines New Kent County with part f Hanover County and a small part of Henrico County. Its PVI is R+21.
Appalachia 1, 3-8, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 20, 24, 26, 29
The 1st district consists of Lee and Scott counties, the city of Norton, and most of Wise County. It has an R+29 PVI. The 3rd district is made up of Bland County, as well as most of Tazewell and Wythe counties, and a part of Pulaski County. It has an R+30 PVI. The 4th district has all of Buchanan and Dickenson counties, most of Russell County, and the remainders of Tazewell and Wise counties. Its PVI is R+26. The 5th district is comprised of the rest of Russell County, Washington County, and the city of Bristol. Its PVI is R+25. The 6th district takes parts of Carroll and Wythe counties, as well as Grayson and Smyth counties, and the city of Galax. The 7th district, in the Blacksburg metro area, consists of part of Montgomery County, most of Pulaski County, and all of Giles County, and it has an R+17 PVI. The 8th is an R+10 district that takes part of the city of Roanoke and part of the Roanoke County, between I-81 and Route 220, as well as the city of Salem. The 11th is comprised of the rest of the city of Roanoke, which is the largest base of Democratic support in this region, and has a D+11 PVI. The 12th is another Democratic leaning district. It takes the rest of Montgomery County, north of I-81, and the city of Radford, and it has a D+5 PVI. The 15th district has an R+21 PVI, and it has Page and Shenandoah counties, as well as parts of Rockingham and Warren counties. The 17th district takes the remainder of Roanoke County and much of Botetourt County, and has an R+19 PVI. The 19th combines the rest of Botetourt County, a small part of Bedford County, and the counties of Alleghany, Bath, Craig, Highland, Rockbridge, as well as the cities of Buena Vista, Covington, and Lexington. It has an R+14 PVI. The R+13 20th district takes the northeastern part of Augusta County and the cities of Staunton and Waynesboro. The 24th district takes the rest of Augusta County and much of Rockingham County, and has an R+26 PVI. The 26th is an R+5 district that is comprised of the Harrisonburg and part of Rockingham County. Finally, the 29th district takes most of Frederick County and the city of Winchester; its PVI is R+14.
Northern 2, 10, 13, 18, 28, 31-53, 67, 86, 87
The 2nd district is a mostly non-White district with a plurality White VAP. The district is 31% Black, 29% White, 28% Hispanic, 7% Asian, and 4% Other. This district is located east of I-95 in Prince William County and has a D+24 PVI. The 10th is a D+6 district in Loudoun County that includes the Leesburg area. At D+4, the 13th district lies just south of I-66 in Prince William County. The 18th is an R+13 district that consists of most of Fauquier County and the eastern part of Warren County. The 28th district is made up of most of Stafford County and has an R+8 PVI. The 31st takes the remainder of Stafford County, a large part of Prince William County, and a part of Fauquier County. This district includes the Quantico area in both Prince William and Stafford counties, and it has an R+6 PVI. The 32nd is a D+10 district in Loudoun County that includes communities like Oak Grove, Sterling, and Sugarland Run. The 33rd combines much of the outlying parts of Loudoun County, with Clarke County and part of Frederick County, and it has an R+10 PVI. The 34th consists of Falls Church and part of Fairfax County including McLean and Pimmit Hills, and it has a D+13 PVI. The 35th, in Fairfax County, consists of communities like Oakton, Vienna, and Vale, and it has a D+10 PVI. The 36th is a D+12 district in the northern corner of Fairfax County and includes Great Falls. The 37th, in the western corner of Fairfax County, has a D+9 PVI. The 38th is a mostly non-White district in central Fairfax County. It's 37% White, 11% Black, 28% Hispanic, 22% Asian, and 3% Other; its PVI is D+19. The 39th is a plurality White, D+14 district just south of the 38th and includes Springfield and surrounding communities. The 40th is a D+7 district south of the 37th and includes Elgin Corner. The 41st is a D+12 district that includes the city of Fairfax, as well as parts of the county to the immediate south. The 42nd is a D+8 district in the southern portion of Fairfax County and to its north, the 43rd is a mostly non-White, D+21 district that's 39% White, 23% Black, 24% Hispanic, 10% Asian, and 4% Other. North and east of that district, the 44th is a 14 district, and it includes places like Fort Hunt, Huntington, and Mount Vernon. Alexandria is split between the 45th and 46th, the latter of which is left the same as the actual district, being west of King Street and Telegraph Road and north of the railroad that runs south of Duke Street. The district is plurality White and has a D+27 PVI. The 45th then takes the remainder of the city along with the southeastern part of Arlington and its PVI is D+23. The 47th is a D+23 district in Arlington, mostly north of I-66. The 48th is a D+27 district that includes Arlington National Cemetery. The 49th is a plurality White district, 42%, with a large Hispanic population, 34%, that combines the remainder of Arlington with communities like Baileys Crossroads and Lake Barcroft in Fairfax Count, and its PVI is D+25. The 50th is a plurality White district that includes Manassas and Manassas Park as well as surrounding parts in Prince William County. The 51st is a competitive D+3 district that wraps around the 52nd, which is mostly comprised of Dale City in Prince William County. The 52nd has a D+19 PVI and is plurality White: 36% White, 27% Black, 25% Hispanic, 8% Asian, 4% Other. The 53rd is a central Fairfax County district that includes communities like Dunn Loring, Idlywood, Mantua, and Merrifield, and it has a D+16 PVI. The 67th is a D+8 district that cross from Fairfax County into Loudoun County and includes Dulles International Airport. The 86th is a plurality White district with a D+16 PVI in Fairfax County between the 36th and 37th districts. Finally, the 87th district is a competitive that includes parts of Loudoun County and part of Prince William County north of I-66. Its PVI is R+1 and it voted for McCain by about 2% and for Romney by about 4%.
My version of the Virginia State House of Delegates district map improves cohesion of communities of interest while also respecting geographical and political boundaries. Like with the senate map, the districts appear compact, but more importantly the overall demographic distributions are improved. There are many more minority opportunity districts in my version, as well as more competitive districts. Democrats would have a much easier time winning a majority, and if this plan was in place during the 2017 elections, they would have most likely won such a majority. Thanks for reading!
The maps were created using Dave’s Redistricting App: gardow.com/…
The charts and data were assembled using spreadsheets via Stephen Wolf’s guide: www.dailykos.com/…
The Statistical Atlas was used to match the district numbering: statisticalatlas.com/…
Google Images aided in determining the regional breakdown
Link to Virginia Senate Map
Alternative Districts: Virginia State Senate
Links to the Kentucky Maps
Alternative Districts: Kentucky State Senate
Alternative Districts: Kentucky State House of Representatives