Exclusive: Wrong State Senate redistricting lines released

In an exclusive to Bearing Drift, we have learned that the State Senate lines that were released Tuesday night by the Senate Democratic Caucus are incorrect, and the maps drawn are inaccurate.  This revelation comes as no to surprise to many observers, who have questioned whether the lines released by Richmond could possibly be real.  Today, Senate Democratic leaders announced that the lines released Tuesday were not the correct lines, and were actually drawn by a kindergarten student who lives next door to State Senator Janet Howell (D-32).

“If you take a look at these lines,” a senior Republican Senator said requesting anonymity, “they look like they were drawn by a five year old. Now we know why – they actually WERE drawn by a five year old.”

In their statement announcing the mix-up with the Senate lines, Senate Democratic caucus officials stated that the map that was released Tuesday was not the official one, and was actually one drawn by the daughter of a neighbor of State Senator Janet Howell.  According to these officials, Senator Howell’s neighbor visited her home the morning the maps were released and her daughter took a green crayon to one of the maps lying on Senator Howell’s desk.  In their hurry to get the maps up on the redistricting website, no one double checked the work or to be sure that the maps released were the correct ones.

“My bad,” Senator Howell told reporters in Richmond this morning.

This revelation doesn’t come as a surprise to many outside observers, most of whom questioned whether the lines drawn could possibly be accurate, given how ridiculously gerrymandered they were.

“Just look at the 31st State Senate district now, it stretches from Loudoun through Fairfax to Arlington.  The only things those three communities have in common is they’re all in Virginia,” said one senior legislator. “And even that’s a stretch for Arlington.”

It is unclear whether the 5 year old’s lines will remain part of the overall package or whether a better map that actually makes sense will be introduced.

Note: To anyone who thinks this is actually true, check the date.

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About the author

Brian Schoeneman

A veteran political professional, a long-time Republican party activist and new attorney, Brian W. Schoeneman has been offering his opinions at Bearing Drift since 2010. He serves on the Board of Virginia Line Media, LLC, which operates Bearing Drift and spends his days representing the U.S. Merchant Marine in Washington, D.C. He hails from Fairfax County, Virginia, where he lives with his wife and son.