WHITE PAPER
“Single-Member Districts”
One Person, One Vote in the West Virginia Legislature
Every ten years following completion of the U. S Census, every state legislature is mandated to
redraw congressional district boundaries in response to population shifts in the Census.
Likewise, each legislature is duty-bound every ten years by the equal protection guarantee of
the Fourteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution to ensure each state legislative body is in
full compliance with what has been dubbed “one person, one vote.” The West Virginia
Constitution requires, “Every citizen shall be entitled to equal representation in the
government, and, in all apportionments of representation.”
Originally defined as “one man, one vote” in the 1964 Supreme Court decision Reynolds v. Sims,
the Court held that each member of a state legislature must represent approximately the same
number of people. The phrase “one man, one vote” was modified in the 1980’s to “one person,
one vote” to reflect more politically correct language.
Often referred to as “redistricting,” the task undertaken every ten years is not only mandated
by law, but critical to properly reflect population changes certified by the Census. The West
Virginia Legislature is expected to deal with the issue during a special legislative session that will
be held, most likely, in September or October of this year. Historically, the Legislature has
enacted redistricting legislation by the first week of October to give candidates enough time to
prepare for the upcoming elections.
In the months leading up to the special session, a committee of legislators will be appointed by
the legislative leadership and charged with developing a preliminary redistricting bill to be
presented to the Legislature when the special session convenes. During these months
legislators will listen to input from citizens and then make their decision. A bill will ultimately
be passed by both the State Senate and the House of Delegates and then forwarded to the
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Governor for his signature. When the process is complete, new legislative districts will be in
place for the 2012 election.
In commenting on the issue, West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts
explained, “It is critical West Virginians become involved in the process and express their views
to their elected representatives. The creation of all single-member districts, or mostly all singlemember districts, has been delayed for decades. If progress is not made this year, it can’t be
done again until 2021. Like citizens in most other states, Mountain State residents deserve to
be properly represented under the “one person, one vote” mandate. Single-member districts
provide enhanced accountability and fairer representation. The West Virginia Chamber of
Commerce strongly urges all West Virginians to become involved in the redistricting process
and convey your support for single-member districts to your legislators.”
Today, the WV State Senate consists of 17 districts with two senators each. However, the WV
House of Delegates with 100 members has 58 districts containing three single-county districts,
three two-county districts, and the rest are made up of whole counties merged with parts of
other counties. West Virginia has the dubious distinction of being the only state in the nation
with a number of legislative districts represented by three or more delegates. Inaction by the
Legislature in 2011 to rectify this problem will again unfairly impact thousands of West
Virginians, who will continue to be underrepresented in the Legislature for another decade,
thus affecting our children and grandchildren.
The WV Legislature has, to a limited extent, recognized the wisdom of the nation’s Founding
Fathers in establishing some single-member districts… 36 of them. However, 22 multi-member
districts remain. WV is clearly far behind the national mainstream. Consider the following:
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West Virginia is one of just ten states that still use multi-member districts
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West Virginia is one of just three states that have delegate districts with more than two
members
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West Virginia is one of only two states that have more than three members in a district
and,
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Only New Hampshire, which has a 400-member House compared with 100 in WV, has a
district with more members than the 30th District in Kanawha County.
Why is all this so important? First of all, and most significant, single-member districts ensure
fair representation required by one person, one vote. Second, in single-member districts voters
know precisely who they are electing, their party, and their positions on critical issues. Third,
smaller single-member districts reduce the costs of campaigning; especially for nonincumbents… leveling the playing field between those already in office and those that may be
running for the first time. Simply put, some legislative districts in WV are able to elect more
delegates than others, which means voters in these multi-member districts have more power
than those West Virginians in single-member districts. In our representative democracy form of
government… that’s simply not right.
In a January 4, 2011 editorial, the Charleston Daily Mail noted, “In single-member districts, one
person is answerable to the people. In multi-delegate districts, elections become namerecognition races and accountability is blurred.” The newspaper in a December 7, 2010
editorial put it more bluntly, “The disparity is undemocratic, if not unconstitutional.”
The Beckley Register-Herald endorsed the concept of single-member districts saying, “We do
believe single-member districts would increase accountability and allow more one-on-one
interaction between delegates and the constituents… It is time West Virginia gets in line with
most of the rest of the country.”
As he was leaving the Governor’s Office, U. S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) commented, “I
believe the time has come for single-member districts.” Manchin also posed a question, “So is it
better service to the citizens and the taxpayers?” His answer: “Absolutely.”
Also commenting, House of Delegates Republican Leader Tim Armstead of Kanawha County, a
member of a three-member district, explained, “I think that moving in the direction of smaller
districts, with a single delegate representing them, allows for the constituents to have a closer
relationship with the delegate who represents them.”
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So, just what is the situation in the WV House of Delegates today? The 100 members of the
House are divided into 58 districts that are constituted as follows:
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36 districts have one member
11 districts have two members
Six districts have three members
Three districts have four members
One district has five members
One district has seven members
Two extreme examples involve Mason and Kanawha Counties. Mason County hasn’t had a
delegate in 20 years who resides in the county, due to sharing a district with more populous
Putnam County. In the 30th District in Kanawha County, which is the largest multi-member
district in the nation as a percentage of population, all seven delegates live in Charleston and
South Charleston, leaving the remainder of the district, which is mostly rural, without local
representation.
The State Journal (WV) commented on West Virginia’s hodgepodge system of legislative
districts when it editorialized, “It’s archaic, it’s unfair, and it’s more evidence that we are clearly
out of touch with the rest of America. Sooner or later, those in power are going to realize you
cannot marginalize people and expect to get away with it forever.”
The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce strongly believes efforts must be taken to reduce the
number of multi-member districts, with the ultimate goal of creating all, or mostly all, singlemember districts. The House of Delegates must be properly reapportioned based on the results
of the 2010 census in the special legislative session that the Governor will convene in October
or November. It is abundantly clear: single-member districts provide enhanced accountability,
thus fairer representation for all West Virginians.
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