Thread by @rjmarr

Good morning VA! As early voting ramps up around the state, now’s a good time to remind you to Vote NO on Amendment 1, which supposedly ensures fair redistricting. I’m not convinced. Here's why:
#VoteNOon1
#Thread
1/

Background: you probably know that “redistricting” - drawing district lines for state legislature and Congress - is super important is for setting the political course of the next decade. So do politicians, which is why they try to control it
2/

A coalition pushed for fair, non-partisan process by 2019 deadline. (Constitutional amendment in VA needs GA to pass a resolution twice, then approved on voter ballot Q.) They didn't get it! Instead, they put in place a compromise
3/

That compromise is Amendment 1! It sets up a commission that will draw the maps for district lines, and then submit to the GA for an up-or-down vote. If voters approve it in November, it becomes part of the constitution. Yaybo! Only... 3 big problems:
4/
elections.virginia.gov/proposed-const…

First, “independent” commission is 8 citizens, but also 8 GA members (2 Dels/2 Sens from each party) chosen by party leaders. Citizen members are chosen from party leaders' lists as well. So the commission will be BI-partisan, but not NON-partisan.
5/

https://twitter.com/ChrisHurstVA/status/1308084879926661126?s=20

Second, if the commission/GA fails to approve maps, the process gets kicked up to VA Supreme Ct, which divided on partisan lines before, and they owe jobs to...the GA! Courts do resort to naked partisanship when stakes are high enough (just ask Al Gore)
6/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_v._G…

Third and worst: commission members have veto power. Any 2 citizen members or any 2 legislative members can refuse to approve ; plus a SINGLE Senator or Delegate can kill maps for their house. This gives a bad actor HUGE leverage
7/

Pro-Amendment folks say "enabling" legislation will "fix". GA Dems already passed good redistricting rules; why stick flawed process permanently in the constitution and hope GA makes it better if you don’t trust those GA members to do the job in the first place?
8/

@VaBlackCaucus says #VoteNoOn1 - no clear protections for minority voters OR selection process for minority commission members. Maybe y’all haven’t been paying attention recently, but #2020 does not seem like the best year to AGAIN ignore Black voices
9/

https://twitter.com/RandonSprinkle/status/1307447987392700422?s=20

Guess who LOVES A1? #VAGOP. They say they want bipartisanship, but party out of power always says. Betcha they approved in 2019 because they saw #BlueWave coming and wanted to still put a thumb on the scale. In blue VA, this is best chance to amplify influence
10/

I would love process that “puts people over politicians.” But partisan control is so strong in A1 that you are essentially asking everyone to act in good faith. Anyone familiar with GOP over last few decades should be skeptical (Republicans know politics = pursuit of power)
11/

When minority party is better at process, and willing to do all to win, "will of the people" suffers. Nonpartisan = disarming two sides in a fight. BI-partisan = laying out the rules for a “fair fight”- only one side has a stick, and the other has a machine gun
12/

So: #VoteNoOn1. More here:
rvapol.com/blog/2020/9/22…
13/End

I've since been reminded that @VaBlackCaucus are technically split on A1 - Hey @JeffMBourne are you speaking officially here or just noting that many caucus folks are against?

https://twitter.com/JeffMBourne/status/1308050257100640257?s=20

Wish We could edit tweets #998: RE: supporters/coalition, I'm conflating "independent" commission they wanted and "non-partisan" (which they never really thought they could get)