McDonnell basically told the State Senate Democrats, from Janet Howell on down, that their plan is likely in violation of the U.S. and Virginia Constitutions (keep in mind, this from the fellow who as Attorney General thought HB3202 was constitutional – you practially have to set the document on fire to fail his test), discriminates against suburban voters (that had to hurt), and chops up counties and cities into julienne fries (which it does).
He also demanded they start redoing lines now.
I must confess; I never expected this. I figured the Governor would change some lines south of the James (like put the 8th back in Virginia Beach) or something. This basically brings everything to a full stop. McDonnell didn’t even present an alternative – which could mean status quo this year and a whole new set of legislative elections in 2012.
Then again, I could be wrong; after all, I missed this entirely.
Cross-posted to RWL (with different title)
Update: Tom White of Virginia Right has the letter the governor sent to the House of Delegates informing them of his decision and his press release. White also makes this keen observation:
The Virginia House of Delegates managed to come up with a bipartisan redistricting plan that saw a number of Democrats vote for the bill in the Republican controlled House. The Democrat controlled State Senate, on the other hand, managed to devise a plan so one sided and protectionist that it did not have a single Republican vote.
Republican Governor Bob McDonnell has issued a veto to stop this Senate foolishness.
As an example of the ridiculous nature of the Senate plan, Hanover County has just one Senate District, where the new Senate plan splits the county into 3 Senate Districts, clearly an ill advised plan drawn only to maximize the number of Democrats elected.
