Del. Rip Sullivan introduced a bill (HB 26) last week which would prohibit the General Assembly from using partisan political data in the redistricting process.
"Politics needs to be taken out of the redistricting process," said Delegate Rip Sullivan. "Hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars have been spent this year to defend what even the drafters of the 2011 congressional and House of Delegates redistricting maps admit was primarily a partisan process. My bill — which overwhelmingly passed the Senate with bipartisan support last year —would make sure that voters choose their elected representatives, not the other way around.”
"Republicans and Democrats for too long have used partisan data to carve up our communities to pick their voters and ensure their own re-election," said Brian Cannon, executive director for OneVirginia2021. "This has to stop and it can with this bill. We're grateful for Delegate Sullivan's consistent leadership on reforming the biggest ethical issue of our time."
Sullivan represents Virginia's 48th House of Delegates District, which is composed of parts of Arlington and McLean.