Multi-member Congressional districts for preference voting

The maps above show Virginia divided into 11 single-member districts, each electing one member of Congress by plurality vote. The uniform size of the districts requires that some municipalities be split between districts.

This is only one approach.

If larger multi-member districts are employed, municipalities and metropolitan areas can be better accommodated. There are three plausible options:

• 1 district with eleven seats, being the entire state
• 2 districts with 5 and 6 seats:
  • 5 in the southeast (Hampton Roads, Richmond, Chesapeake Bay)
  • 6 in the north and west (Washington suburbs, Appalachia, PIedmont)
• 3 districts with 3, 3, and 5 seats:
  • 3 in the west (Appalachia, Piedmont)
  • 3 in the north (Washington suburbs)
  • 5 in the southeast (Hampton Roads, Richmond, Chesapeake Bay)

Why no district with two or four seats?

• Two-seat districts are unlikely to produce fluid results.
• There is no place to put a four-seat district, which in Virginia would have a population of 2,574,005 (based on the 2000 census). A district of that size can only be drawn by fragmenting established regions. If based in Western Virginia, a district that large would have to include suburbs of Washington or Richmond. If based in Northern Virginia, a district that large would have to extend beyond the region into the vicinity of Hampton Roads, Richmond, Charlottesville, or Harrisonburg. If based in Hampton Roads and Richmond, a district that small could not include all their suburbs.

Preference voting is discussed at length by the Center for Voting and Democracy.

2 multi-member districts

2 multi-member districts

DISTRICT LOCATION	INTEGRAL NUMBER OF SEATS	DISTRICT POPULATION AS RATIO OF AVERAGE SEAT POPULATION	TOTAL POPULATION	PERCENT NON - HISPANIC BLACK	VOTING AGE PERCENT NON - HISPANIC BLACK
East	5	5.0080	3,222,672	30.2%	28.6%
Northwest	6	5.9920	3,855,843	10.5%	9.9%

3 multi-member districts

3 multi-member districts

DISTRICT LOCATION	INTEGRAL NUMBER OF SEATS	DISTRICT POPULATION AS RATIO OF AVERAGE SEAT POPULATION	TOTAL POPULATION	PERCENT NON - HISPANIC BLACK	VOTING AGE PERCENT NON - HISPANIC BLACK
West	3	3.0198	1,943,216	10.5%	9.8%
North	3	2.9900	1,924,101	10.9%	10.4%
East	5	4.9902	3,211,198	29.9%	28.4%

Standards for drawing districts, in approximate order of application

• Population equality (±2%)
• Preserving community integrity
  • dividing as few communities as possible
  • dividing each community into as few parts as possible
  • dividing larger rather than smaller communities
• Contiguity
  • by land (minimal crossing of water)
  • by road
  • by mass transit, such as a railroad
• Compactness
  • minimal ratio of length to width of districts
• Uniting communities of interest
• Social characteristics
  • ethnicity
  • economics
  • education

Data source: U.S. Bureau of Census.