Despite convening briefly for a special session in mid-August, the Virginia General Assembly failed to meet the deadline imposed by a federal court for redrawing the boundaries of the state’s 3rd Congressional District.

The failure of the General Assembly to address its responsibilities leaves the map drawing in the hands of the federal judiciary.

The judges have the opportunity to set a very positive example for all future redistricting efforts by using as their starting point the independent, bipartisan redistricting plans that were developed during the last redistricting cycle. A good redistricting plan would respect natural geographic boundaries, the boundaries of local jurisdictions and communities of interest. If redistricting is done in a way that is fair and nonpartisan, it ultimately will produce a result that permits democratic processes to flourish in our state and reflect the true political power of minorities and other ethnic groups within our increasingly diverse Commonwealth.

The court also has the opportunity to follow a key recommendation of Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s bipartisan Integrity Commission. The commission recommended amending the Virginia Constitution so that future redistricting plans always would be drawn by an independent commission, rather than partisan politicians.

It was commendable that then-Gov. Bob McDonnell appointed an independent, bipartisan advisory commission, which held hearings around the state before proposing three different congressional redistricting maps. The commission also encouraged the consideration of the winning maps that emerged from a competition among Virginia college teams that year.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of using such commissions to draw the boundaries of legislative districts, we believe the current impasse provides the appeals court with a rare opportunity to demonstrate that this approach can actually work in Virginia. In doing so, the court can strike a blow for fairness, transparency and good government — and take an important step toward promoting a healthier democracy in our very politically polarized state.

The League of Women Voters of Virginia, along with leagues across the country, continue to press for redistricting reform at the state level. To learn more about redistricting and LWV-VA decades-long efforts to decrease gerrymandering, go to www.lwv-va.org/redistrict.html. A major effort of LWV-VA is to have redistricting reform by 2021 when the next redistricting occurs.

DIANNE BLAIS

Fairfax

LOIS PAGE

Fairfax Station

The writers are co-presidents of the League of Women Voters of Virginia.