West Virginia State House of Delegates
Below you'll find my alternative to the West Virginia State House of Delegates district map. Compactness is taken into account in drawing these maps, but it’s not the top priority. My version displays a better way of keeping together communities of interest, while respecting political and geographical boundaries. Recreating the actual map using Dave’s Redistricting App was not practical since too many districts couldn’t be drawn to match exactly, which caused discrepancies that had large effects on district demographics. Therefore, only images of my version are presented. This state uses multi-member districts which results in some districts having up to 5 times as many people, and thus up to 5 representatives, yet most are single member districts. The district numbering keeps to the previous numbering as closely as possible. This includes the multi-member districts which all have the same numbering as the actual districts. (The file for my original piece was corrupted, so this one is presented differently than the other diaries.)
Northern Panhandle 1-4
1st: Brooke (part), Hancock; R+18;
2nd: Brooke (part); R+15
3: Ohio (part); R+15
4: Marshall, Ohio (part); R+22
Mid-Ohio Valley 5-12
5th: Monongalia (part), Wetzel; R+21
6th: Doddridge, Pleasants (part), Tyler; R+32
7th: Pleasants (part), Ritchie; R+30
8th: Wood (part); R+25
9th: Wirt, Wood (part); R+29
10th: Wood (part); R+19
11th: Jackson (part), Roane; R+21
12th: Jackson (part); R+23
Metro Valley 13-18, 35-40
13th: Jackson (part), Mason; R+21
14th: Putnam (part); R+24
15th: Putnam (part); R+24
16th: Cabell (part), Lincoln (part); R+20
17th: Cabell (part), Wayne (part); D+2
18th: Cabell (part); R+17
35th: Kanawha (part); R+7
36th: Kanawha (part); R+15
37th: Kanawha (part); D+19
38th: Putnam (part); R+22
39th: Kanawha (part); R+16
40th: Kanawha (part); R+26
Hatfield-McCoy Mountains 19, 20, 22-24
19: Wayne (part); R+23
20th: Mingo (part); R+29
22nd: Boone (part), Kanawha (part), Lincoln (part), Logan (part); R+24
23rd: Boone (part); R+23
24th: Logan (part), Wyoming (part); R+29
New River Valley: 21, 25-32, 42
21st: McDowell (part), Mingo (part); R+34
25th: Raleigh (part), Wyoming (part); R+32
26th: McDowell (part), Mercer (part); R+22
27th: Mercer (part); R+27
28th: Monroe, Raleigh (part), Summers; R+26
29th: Raleigh (part); R+34
30th: Raleigh (part); R+11
31st: Raleigh (part); R+34
32nd: Fayette, Raleigh (part); R+19
42nd: Greenbrier; R+19
Mountain Lakes 33, 34, 41, 44-46
33rd: Braxton (part), Calhoun, Gilmer; R+22
34th: Braxton (part), Clay; R+21
41st: Nicholas (part); R+27
44th: Nicholas (part), Upshur (part), Webster; R+24
45th: Upshur (part); R+27
46th: Lewis, Upshur (part); R+28
Mountaineer Country 47-53
47th: Barbour, Tucker (part); R+26
48th: Harrison, Marion (part); R+18
49th: Taylor, Marion (part); R+23
50th: Marion (part); R+14
51st: Monongalia (part); R+6
52nd: Preston (part); R+26
53rd: Preston (part), Tucker (part); R+28
Potomac Highlands 43, 54-57
43rd: Pocahontas, Randolph; R+20
54th: Grant, Hardy (part), Mineral (part); R+37
55th: Hardy (part), Pendleton; R+24
56th: Mineral (part); R+26
57th: Hampshire (part), Mineral (part); R+27
Eastern Panhandle 58-67
58th: Hampshire (part), Morgan (part); R+25
59th: Berkeley (part), Morgan (part); R+24
60th: Berkeley (part); R+26
61st: Berkeley (part); R+3
62nd: Berkeley (part); R+19
63rd: Berkeley (part); R+14
64th: Berkeley (part); R+22
65: Jefferson (part); R+4
66: Jefferson (part); R+15
67: Jefferson (part); R+2
My version of the West Virginia State House of Delegates district map improves cohesion of communities of interest while also respecting geographical and political boundaries. For the most part, the map doesn’t change very much. However, the changes that are made improve the overall map. The actual districts were drawn by Democrats, but in a state that has trended heavily Republican in recent years, Republicans can expect large majorities in the years ahead. 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 West Virginia Senate Map
Alternative Districts: West Virginia State House of Delegates
Links to the Virginia Maps
Alternative Districts: Virginia State Senate
Alternative Districts: Virginia State House of Delegates