The new boundaries suggested under the HDC's alternative redistricting proposal submitted to the Hanover Board of Supervisors on April 13 include:

1. The Cool Spring precinct in Chickahominy district would become part of the Ashland district. It could be added to the existing Sliding Hill precinct or become a new precinct within the Ashland district.
2. The Totopotomoy neighborhood and the portion of Kings Charter currently in the Ashland district would rejoin the Chickahominy district. The northwestern boundary of the new Chickahominy district would be easily recognizable as Sliding Hill Road, and the shapes of both the Ashland and Chickahominy districts would become more regular and compact.
3. Beaverdam would expand to include the northern half of Henry's Georgetown precinct. The new district line would start at Route 301 and Kersey Creek, follow Kersey Creek east to Georgetown Road, then follow Fire Lane to Pollard Creek Road, and go north on Pollard Creek Road following the existing precinct boundary to the Pamunkey River.
4. Henry would lose area to Beaverdam but pick up the northern portion of the Old Church precinct in the Cold Harbor district. The new Henry district line would start at Route 360 and Old Church Road, follow Old Church Road east to Piping Tree Ferry Road, then along Piping Tree Ferry Road to Matadequin Creek, and along Matadequin Creek to the Pamunkey River. Note that if the Old Church community would be deemed a community of interest split by this plan, the proposed boundary could deviate southward from Old Church Road to include all of Old Church in the new Henry district, or north of Old Church to keep it within the Cold Harbor district (the latter option would require allowing Cold Harbor to deviate from the goal population size by about 3.0%, however).
5. To conform to the state 9th Virginia Senate district, the boundary for Stony Run precinct would be redefined to run along Elmont Road from the town boundary south to Ashcake Road, then west along Ashcake Road to the South Anna magisterial district line.

The 2010 US Census data file became available for Virginia on Feb. 3. This release was ahead of schedule and the census was $1.6 billion (with a "b") under budget, thanks to the efforts of many hard-working public servants, from Census Bureau Director Bob Groves to the enumerators who fanned out across the nation last year. Here are the census numbers for Hanover County by magisterial district.

• Total population in Hanover County: 99,863
• Total magisterial districts: 7
• Ideal population per district after redistricting: 14,266 (this is just 99,863/7)

Redistricting guidelines and case law would ordinarily allow district populations to vary within +/- 5% of the ideal size. That yields a cushion of about 703 people either way from the ideal size of 14,266. Presumably, Beaverdam could add anywhere from about 644 to 2,050 people and be legal. Ashland also needs to grow. There are other considerations in creating a legal redistricting plan, including keeping "communities of interest" together and protecting minority voting rights. The county will have public meetings this spring about redistricting. Citizen input may decrease the chances of gerrymandering.

Redistricting of national, state and local political boundaries in response to the 2010 census will likely have a major impact on the 2011 elections. The concern, of course, is that Republicans will further gerrymander districts at all levels to expand and solidify their electoral power. The Political Strategy Committee will closely monitor the redistricting process. This is also an opportunity for all HDC members to become actively involved. The more Democratic eyes, ears and voices the better!

State Redistricting.   At the state level, the Division of Legislative Services is the lead agency. In a nutshell, the Virginia Senate and the House of Delegates must pass a redistricting plan in the form of a bill that will be signed into law by the Governor.  The redistricting plan then must be approved by the US Department of Justice in compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  All of this must be accomplished between February/March 2011 (depending on when the state receives the census data) and August 23, 2011, the date of any primaries for the November election.  Information on redistricting the Virginia Senate, House of Delegates, and US Congressional districts can be found at: http://disgis.state.va.us.  In addition to providing links to redistricting information, this site lets you sign up for email news and alerts.  DLS also will host a website that allows citizens to use interactive maps to give input on how specific boundaries should be drawn.  The interactive maps will not be available until the US Census data is received.

The following offices are up for election in Hanover County in 2011:

• Virginia Senate 4th District
• House of Delegates 55th District
• House of Delegates 97th District
• All 7 Board of Supervisors positions
• Commissioner of the Revenue
• County Treasurer
• County Sheriff
• Commonwealth's Attorney
• Clerk of the Circuit Court