THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 26, 1996 TAG: 9601250195
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Early next month, the City Council will pick a new voting district map among four that have been proposed.
This week, city election consultants told the council that all four meet federal guidelines.
The federal government takes a close interest in the way such lines are drawn because of the potential for abuse. For years, minority voting power was diluted by dividing communities into multiple voting districts. Under federal guidance, many voting districts are now designed to magnify minority voting power by creating so-called majority-minority districts.
Lisa R. Handley, senior research analyst for Election Data Services, a Washington-based consulting firm, said the city should create districts of approximately 56,000 people each, or risk violating the 14th Amendment, which guarantees the right of ``one man, one vote.''
The city's current system, in which districts range in population from under 1,000 to more than 150,000, is legal, Handley said, because district representatives are elected at-large, rather than by ward.
In May, voters will consider whether to switch from an at-large to a ward system of electing their seven district representatives. If the city moves to a ward system, then, under the 14th Amendment, all the districts must have approximately the same number of people, she said.
The three at-large representatives and the mayor would not be affected by any change in the district representation.
Because the city's racial population is so dispersed, it does not have to worry about violating protections against racial discrimination included in the 14th and 15th amendments and in state law, Handley said. It would be impossible to create a majority-minority district in Virginia Beach, regardless of how the lines were drawn, she said.
``All four plans meet constitutional and statutory requirements,'' Handley said.
The council has not yet discussed the four proposed plans in detail, though each has been described at a public meeting. Most of the plans call for combining Blackwater, Pungo and parts of Princess Anne boroughs into one district. The Beach Borough would also be extended inland and northward to pick up more people; and Kempsville would be split among two or three representatives.
The new district map would not take effect until 1998, when all seven borough representatives will be up for election. Representatives of the Blackwater, Beach and Princess Anne boroughs will be elected to a two-year term in May, instead of the regular four-year term, so that all the seats will expire in two years.
The public will be able to comment on the districts during the Feb. 6 meeting, which begins at 2 p.m. The council is expected to pick one of the districts then. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
TRACKING THE BUDGET
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB