A special session of the General Assembly will convene following our regular session adjournment in the Spring to tackle the issue of redistricting, or reapportionment.  Every ten years, following the census, the House and Senate districts are re-drawn to take into account population changes and shifts in the state.  Each district is required to have approximately the same population as every other district.  So, if some portions of the Commonwealth have had a substantial population gain that area would likely gain a seat in the House of Delegates or Senate, while corresponding localities that did not grow, or lost population would lose a seat.

As you may have read, every ten years there is a push to try to make the drawing of the district lines less partisan, so that district lines reflect population changes and not necessarily party affiliation.  But in reality, politics has always played a major part in redistricting, as is likely again this year.  For example, the House of Delegates has a Republican majority, which means the Republicans will get to draw the new district maps, and will try to keep as many seats currently held by Republican members and will try to eliminate or combine districts currently represented by Democrats.  The exact opposite is the case in the Virginia Senate, which has a Democratic majority.

Responding to a campaign pledge, Gov. Bob McDonnell this week named an independent, bipartisan redistricting commission to gather public input and make recommendations to state lawmakers to help them redraw the legislative boundaries.

The Governor said redistricting "should take place in a manner that is fair and open.  Legislative districts should be drawn in a way that reflects commonsense geographic boundaries and communities of interest as required by law."  I'll keep you posted.