Monday is deadline to apply for Virginia's redistricting committee
RICHMOND, Va. (WSET) — Time is running out if you want to apply to be on a redistricting committee to redraw the lines in the Commonwealth.
All Virginians can apply, but you have to do it by Monday. Citizens will be able to serve on Virginia’s newly created bipartisan redistricting commission, a group that will redraw the state’s congressional and General Assembly districts to conform with the 2020 Census.
Republican Senator Steve Newman is on the redistricting committee. He responded to a report by the Virginia Public Action Project that said there isn't much diversity among the applicants.
VPAP said 161 applicants are men, 53 applicants are women and 25 applicants are black. They report that the majority of the applicants are over age 50. Additionally, only 17 applicants listed their income as below $50,000. The majority of the applicants said they make more than $100,000.
However, Senator Newman said that these statistics are not a fair indicator because they don't have all the applications in yet.
"Every Virginian can go online right now, no matter where you are from, your background, you can put in an application today so there is no reason why we don't have representation throughout the entire Commonwealth," Newman said.
Once the deadline passes Monday, Newman said they will whittle down the list. Then a panel of judges will choose eight citizen members for the commission by Jan. 15.
If you want to apply, click here.
The 16-member panel, which was created after voters approved a constitutional amendment earlier this month, will include eight legislators and eight other citizens, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.
The maps developed by the panel will be sent to the General Assembly for an up-or-down vote with no opportunity to amend them. If the maps are rejected, the Supreme Court of Virginia will draw them.
