Republican bill aims to push Democratic voters out of Virginia and return them to Washington, D.C.

Georgia Congressman Proposes Bill to Redistrict Virginia

Georgia Congressman Rich McCormick, a Republican, has proposed a bill aimed at modifying local political dynamics by shifting some liberal areas back to the District of Columbia. This legislation, which was put into action recently, seeks to change Virginia’s political landscape.

The District of Columbia was established in 1790 as a 100-square-mile area ceded by Virginia and Maryland. However, in 1846, Congress returned a portion of that territory—including Arlington County and Alexandria—to Virginia, effectively limiting the capital city to the Maryland side of the Potomac River.

McCormick expressed concerns about the bill’s legal grounding regarding retroactively altering historical boundaries. He referenced the Enclave Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which outlines congressional authority over the federal district and implies no power to revert land back to the states.

Interestingly, he’s not the first to delve into the legality of such retroactive measures. Historical Republican Senator Benjamin Wade brought up similar issues back in 1866, arguing that Congress holds perpetual jurisdiction over ceded territories.

Years later, the U.S. Supreme Court also touched on the retroactive legal implications in a case that questioned effectiveness, although the specifics were not adjudicated.

McCormick argued that the territorial adjustments in Arlington and Alexandria have led to distorted electoral processes, evidenced by recent redistricting attempts in Virginia. Just this week, Virginia voters opted for gerrymandered congressional maps, which, if sanctioned by a local judge and upheld by the Virginia Supreme Court next week, could tilt the political scales significantly toward the Democratic Party.

McCormick believes that if Arlington and Alexandria were absorbed back into D.C., it would add around 250,000 votes to the District, thereby drastically reshaping Virginia’s electoral compass. The recent votes in both cities strongly favored adopting these new, gerrymandered maps, further complicating the landscape.

“Democrats have spent years manipulating maps and boundaries to rig elections,” McCormick stated. He believes that his proposal should restore the original boundaries, putting an end to what he sees as artificial advantages that the Democrats may have gained.