Fairness Isn’t Just One Number

Supervisor Richard Jamieson is correct that Virginia’s current congressional map scores well on certain proportionality measures, but proportionality alone is not the only way to evaluate fairness.

District maps are also judged by factors such as competitiveness, representation of communities of interest, minority voting power, and whether voters have meaningful choices at the ballot box. A map that happens to produce a close vote-to-seat ratio in a single election cycle does not necessarily guarantee long-term fairness or political balance, particularly in a rapidly changing state like Virginia.

His argument also assumes that the national context is irrelevant, but many advocates of redistricting reform see it differently. Across the country, both parties have used gerrymandering when they have the power to do so. In that environment, some Democrats argue that refusing to respond while other states draw aggressively partisan maps effectively puts their voters at a disadvantage.

The national picture is more complicated than a simple seat tally, and debates over fairness often reflect competing philosophies about whether states should act independently or respond strategically to national partisan maps.

Finally, Jamieson’s warning that the proposal would silence rural Virginia may overstate the case. Rural voters would continue to elect representatives in state and local government, and congressional districts inevitably combine rural and urban populations because of large differences in population density. While turnout differences between presidential and off-year elections are real, that dynamic is not unique to rural conservatives; it reflects broader patterns of voter engagement.

Ultimately, the question before Virginians is less about one map being permanently “fair” and more about how the state should balance representation, competitiveness, and political realities in a system where redistricting is always contested.

Cara Aldridge Young
Shenandoah District
Warren County, VA

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