CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia's House of Delegates will almost certainly increase the ranks of its single-seat districts this year, but whether it can carve out individual districts for all 100 seats is another matter, the head of its redistricting committee tells The Associated Press.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia's House of Delegates will almost certainly increase the ranks of its single-seat districts this year, but whether it can carve out individual districts for all 100 seats is another matter, the head of its redistricting committee tells The Associated Press.
"At the end of the day, we will see more single-member districts than we have going in," said Chairman Brent Boggs, the House's majority leader. "But doing it all in one fell swoop may be difficult."
But Boggs wouldn't rule out the possibility. The Braxton County Democrat said the 30-delegate committee will get a better sense of potential options during this month's interim meetings, which are slated for next week.
The Legislature will be redrawing its district boundaries and those of the state's three congressional seats in response to the 2010 Census. Lawmakers hope to pass a redistricting plan in August, to give would-be candidates as well as state and county officials enough time ahead of the 2012 elections.
A task force featuring 17 of 34 state senators has taken the lead on redistricting in that body, while also drawing new maps for the U.S. House of Representatives seats. It's held 11 statewide public forums, with another planned for July 21 in Princeton. While the House committee has met just once, in June, Boggs said its members and other delegates have been seeking public comment.
"The committee members are continuing to discuss their particular regions locally with their constituents," Boggs said last week. "They can talk to the people they represent and then come up with a plan or plans that they think will work best for the people in their areas."
The goal is districts that provide equal representation while also keeping "communities of interest" together. Boggs said delegates have already heard calls for including all or most of a given county within one House district. He noted that's a more daunting task for House than for the Senate, which divides its 34 seats among 17 two-seat districts.
The 2010 Census counted 1.85 million people in West Virginia. That means that each delegate should represent 18,530 people and each Senate district should contain 109,000 residents.
The Legislature is allowed wiggle room of up to 5 percent. Each Senate district can vary by up to 5,450 people, while the House's number per delegate is 926.
The House distributed its seats among 58 districts following the 2000 Census. Twenty of those districts, together containing 44 seats, remain within 5 percent of the new ideal defined by the 2010 Census. They include nine of the chamber's 22 multi-seat districts. The seven-seat 30th District, which represents Kanawha County and has the most delegates of any district, is among these nine. So is the second-largest district, the five-seat 27th District that encompasses all of Raleigh County along with part of Summers County.
But 38 districts with a total of 56 seats have too few or too many people per delegate. The Eastern Panhandle and Morgantown area has grown, and so merits additional representation, while the southern coalfields have seen declines. To a lesser degree, so has the Northern Panhandle. The resulting ripple effect could spell changes for all districts, as could the debate over whether to seek 100 single-seat districts.
House Select Committee on Redistricting
Senate Redistricting Task Force
Lawrence Messina covers the statehouse for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/lmessina
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- West Virginia's House of Delegates will almost certainly increase the ranks of its single-seat districts this year, but whether it can carve out individual districts for all 100 seats is another matter, the head of its redistricting committee tells The Associated Press.
"At the end of the day, we will see more single-member districts than we have going in," said Chairman Brent Boggs, the House's majority leader. "But doing it all in one fell swoop may be difficult."
But Boggs wouldn't rule out the possibility. The Braxton County Democrat said the 30-delegate committee will get a better sense of potential options during this month's interim meetings, which are slated for next week.
The Legislature will be redrawing its district boundaries and those of the state's three congressional seats in response to the 2010 Census. Lawmakers hope to pass a redistricting plan in August, to give would-be candidates as well as state and county officials enough time ahead of the 2012 elections.
A task force featuring 17 of 34 state senators has taken the lead on redistricting in that body, while also drawing new maps for the U.S. House of Representatives seats. It's held 11 statewide public forums, with another planned for July 21 in Princeton. While the House committee has met just once, in June, Boggs said its members and other delegates have been seeking public comment.
"The committee members are continuing to discuss their particular regions locally with their constituents," Boggs said last week. "They can talk to the people they represent and then come up with a plan or plans that they think will work best for the people in their areas."
The goal is districts that provide equal representation while also keeping "communities of interest" together. Boggs said delegates have already heard calls for including all or most of a given county within one House district. He noted that's a more daunting task for House than for the Senate, which divides its 34 seats among 17 two-seat districts.
The 2010 Census counted 1.85 million people in West Virginia. That means that each delegate should represent 18,530 people and each Senate district should contain 109,000 residents.
The Legislature is allowed wiggle room of up to 5 percent. Each Senate district can vary by up to 5,450 people, while the House's number per delegate is 926.
The House distributed its seats among 58 districts following the 2000 Census. Twenty of those districts, together containing 44 seats, remain within 5 percent of the new ideal defined by the 2010 Census. They include nine of the chamber's 22 multi-seat districts. The seven-seat 30th District, which represents Kanawha County and has the most delegates of any district, is among these nine. So is the second-largest district, the five-seat 27th District that encompasses all of Raleigh County along with part of Summers County.
But 38 districts with a total of 56 seats have too few or too many people per delegate. The Eastern Panhandle and Morgantown area has grown, and so merits additional representation, while the southern coalfields have seen declines. To a lesser degree, so has the Northern Panhandle. The resulting ripple effect could spell changes for all districts, as could the debate over whether to seek 100 single-seat districts.
House Select Committee on Redistricting
Senate Redistricting Task Force
Lawrence Messina covers the statehouse for The Associated Press. Follow him at http://twitter.com/lmessina
