How to (and why you should!) Upload a District Plan to Representable

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Representable

4 min readOct 14, 2021

Oftentimes, people think that the only time to comment on the maps created during redistricting is after the lines are drawn. However, during the redistricting process, several draft maps may be released by state governments. For example, Arizona is releasing their draft maps here. In several states, community members and advocates can look at these maps and see how they will affect their communities.

But, if you’re not a professional map drawer, how can you analyze these maps with Communities of Interest?

With Representable, users can upload a district plan (as a GeoJSON file) and overlay submitted COIs with these proposed district lines. Virginia is one state where multiple draft maps have been produced. As an example, we uploaded Virginia state house draft maps A3 and B3 to Representable and reviewed how the maps interacted with communities in Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads is a high-profile area in Virginia redistricting as 6 out of the 11 districts in Bethune Hill v. Virginia Board of Elections were located in this area.

Community of Interest Spotlight: “Vick”

The author of this COI provided detailed testimony regarding the environmental concerns, history, and community activities shared by their community. Their COI included:

“The areas around Hampton University, there’s a church from 1600, the area where Africans first landed, the beaches, Fort Monroe, the Emancipation Proclamation, historical tree, the historical cemeteries, and Hampton itself all represent the diverse history of Hampton. Healthcare facilities, Hampton University Proton Lab”

Additionally, they explained that

“sustainability of the seafood industry is very important (i.e. crab factory). Concerns about flooding, erosion of the beaches, etc that deal with the various industries that relate to water.”

Here is their COI overlaid with the current Virginia House of Delegates map. We have annotated the picture for clarity:

You can see this COI on Representable here: https://www.representable.org/submission/4aa1dc7d-17e1-494f-b70b-b4599b299f35

Here is their COI overlaid by House Map A:

And now, House Map B:

We asked Alexandria Bratton, a Hampton resident and the Senior Program Manager for the Virginia Civic Engagement Table (VCET), for her thoughts on the maps. She believed that out of the two, map B was a better option over map A.

Alexandria explained:

I also agree that coastal flooding and sea level rise is an issue in this area — but it’s a widespread issue in the entire Hampton Roads region…I am afraid that map A would dilute the voting power of black people in Hampton [specifically by] including areas like Fox Hill, Grandview and Buckroe that currently sit in another district.

Additionally, she asserted that Map B keeps more COIs together. Alexandria specifically cited Aberdeen Gardens: a national historic district that was built “by and for” the Black community.

This case study demonstrates how community members have specific knowledge of local areas that deserves to be included in the analysis of draft maps. Within this one area, we see several “interests” of economic ties, environmental concerns, and racial composition: all of which were served differently by Maps A and B. Consequently, it’s important that citizens are included in these discussions regarding draft maps.

However, you don’t need to be on the Representable team in order to do this analysis. Advocates, governments, and community members themselves can complete this type of analysis right now on our website!