{"id":54494,"date":"2026-01-15T15:23:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/?post_type=press&p=54494"},"modified":"2026-01-15T15:39:23","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T20:39:23","slug":"common-cause-warns-virginia-to-follow-its-redistricting-criteria","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/ar\/press\/common-cause-warns-virginia-to-follow-its-redistricting-criteria\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Cause Warns Virginia to Follow Its Redistricting Criteria"},"template":"","class_list":["post-54494","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Common Cause, the nation\u2019s premiere redistricting leader, sent a letter to Virginia legislators, urging them to comply with the organization\u2019s fairness criteria as they advance mid-decade redistricting","featured_image":"","press_type":236,"authors":["{\"site_id\":\"1\",\"post_type\":\"person\",\"post_id\":7755}"],"related_issues":[2066],"related_work":false,"location":46},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":true,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":["{\"site_id\":\"1\",\"post_type\":\"person\",\"post_id\":7755}"],"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Common Cause, the nation\u2019s premiere redistricting leader,\u00a0sent a letter to Virginia legislators<\/a>, urging them\u00a0to\u00a0comply with\u00a0the organization\u2019s\u00a0fairness\u00a0criteria as they advance mid-decade redistricting.\u00a0In the letter, the organization signals their\u00a0intended\u00a0opposition\u00a0if the state\u00a0fails to\u00a0meet its fairness criteria.\u00a0The Virginia state legislature is scheduled to vote on mid-decade proposals Friday, Jan<\/span>.<\/span><\/b>\u00a016.<\/span>\r\n\r\n\u201cWe know\u00a0Virginians\u00a0did not start this mid-decade redistricting fight, and Virginians have a front row seat to President Trump\u2019s daily power grabs,\u201d\u00a0<\/span>said Dan Vicu\u00f1a, Common Cause Senior Director of Voting and Fair Representation<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0\"But\u00a0representation\u00a0for communities of color\u00a0must remain protected, especially\u00a0as President\u00a0Trump\u00a0continues his\u00a0campaign to take away voters\u2019 right to choose their leaders in Congress.\u00a0Common Cause is\u00a0watching,\u00a0and if the process\u00a0isn\u2019t\u00a0fair,\u00a0our members\u00a0will oppose the\u00a0unfair maps and ensure every Virginian understands\u00a0what\u2019s\u00a0at stake in a major election year.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nCommon Cause\u00a0has always opposed\u00a0partisan gerrymandering\u00a0committed by Democrats and Republicans.\u00a0In response to unprecedented mid-decade redraws in September, the organization was the first to create six fairness criteria to protect fair representation in the process.\u00a0The criteria were developed to prevent partisan reactions\u2014Democratic and Republican alike\u2014from entrenching long-term inequities in representation. To date, Common Cause has evaluated mid-decade redistricting in\u00a0four\u00a0states: California,\u00a0Indiana,\u00a0Missouri,\u00a0and\u00a0Texas. States must meet all six criteria to avoid Common Cause\u2019s opposition.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nCommon Cause\u2019s Six Fairness Criteria:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n