I'm happy to see that reconsideration of statewide map A5 is on the Commission's agenda for its 10/20 meeting. However, if this refers to the A5 HOD map, I'll point out that this map was posted on 10/1 and, therefore, could not reflect citizens' comments on the maps made at 8 virtual hearings held after 10/1.

You have no minority districts in Virginia Beach at all. This is the closest one, but considering the racially polarized voters in this area, the map ensures a lack of representation.

District 45 may be viewed as a minority opportunity district, however, if the lines were drawn to pull in more of the south eastern part of Norfolk, you may be able to increase minority representation.

I agree with Lauren Meslar’s comment. I live in western Albemarle County and as another commenter has said, have had my voice diluted for years due to partisan gerrymandering. If our county is to be divided it should be along the lines Ms. Meslar suggested with the intent of keeping as much of the county together as possible—one district including the majority of Albemarle and Charlottesville (where many of us in my area work, our kids play sports, go to camp, etc), and one combining southern Albemarle with Nelson County.

In this, as in so many proposals, District 71 comes down like a fist to absorb part of Virginia Beach. This area of Virginia Beach is completely suburban area. The Eastern Shore, which would comprise the rest of District 71, is rural and semi-rural. The two parts have few concerns in common. Inevitably, the delegate would have to choose which constituents to support and which to ignore. Instead, the Eastern Shore should be expanded be expanding the district to the west, across the Chesapeake Bay, which historically unites the communities on either side.

The division of Albemarle County in this proposal seems to be partisan-oriented instead of community-focused as I thought these new districts were supposed to be. I live in the current 59th district which is incredibly gerrymandered and would very much like to be part of the district of my neighbors, 1.5 miles away instead of lumped with those in Lynchburg and further south. The proposal here continues to divide Albemarle unfairly. It should be focused on the county line with either Greene or Nelson combined as many of those populations use Albemarle/Cville as their economic and cultural center and existing divisions already group these areas together (JRML system, BRHD sytem).

Fauquier can easily fit within a single district. By dividing the county using the current precincts selected in Southern Fauquier, it creates a very jagged edge that is confusing and creates illogical peninsulas between the two districts.

This map for Danville-Pittsylvania County is still unacceptable. Again, Pittsylvania County should be split north and south, not east to west. The three towns in Pittsylvania County (Chatham, Gretna and Hurt) should be placed in one House district, not Chatham being with all of Henry County-Martinsville. The southern part of Pittsylvania County including Bachelors Hall, Berry Hill, Mount Cross, Mount Hermon, Ringgold, and the City of Danville should be together within another House District.

Clarke County has more in common with Winchester and Frederick County than with Loudon County. It does not make sense to pair Clarke County with Loudon County.

Fauquier County would fit in one district and there is no reason to split it into half. It seems like keeping jurisdictions together is only a priority until there is a political reason not to do so.

Commissioners, As a citizen of Albemarle County and a candidate for the House of Delegates in 2019, I oppose the treatment of Albemarle County proposed in Map 100A3 for the House of Delegates. Map 100A3 certainly appears to be a partisan gerrymander in our area that flouts the ideals of compactness and maintaining communities of interest. It attempts to keep Albemarle County splintered and dilute our voice in the political process by needlessly dividing our county into 3 sections. First, it lumps the southern & western portions into a long proposed district (HD76) that would stretch down to the southern border of Amherst County. Second, it carves out the northern part of Albemarle County & attaches it with Greene & Orange Counties into a proposed district (HD74) that would stretch all the way to the far eastern tip of Orange. Third, it stretches a Charlottesville District to include parts of Albemarle to the west & north (HD75). These three oddly drawn Districts will harm our ability to participate in the democratic process and further fracture our community. As a candidate for the House of Delegates in the current 59th District in 2019, my firsthand experience is that the 59th is a gross gerrymander that blatantly violates the notions of compactness and communities of interest. The proposed HD76 and HD74 in Map100A3 are certainly reminiscent of the current 59th District in this regard. Please do not do this to our community. The treatment of Albemarle County proposed in Map 102B3 is fairer, more sensible, and in keeping with the spirit of fair redistricting. Thank you.

As with previous maps. It's ridiculous to split Charlottesville-Albemarle into 3 separate districts. Do a radius around Charlottesville, Keep the rest of Albemarle county whole and cross over to Fluvanna county to take Lake Monticello and surrounding areas if needed to make the numbers work out.

As with previous maps. It's ridiculous to split Charlottesville-Albemarle into 3 separate districts. Do a radius around Charlottesville, Keep the rest of Albemarle county whole and cross over to Fluvanna county to take Lake Monticello and surrounding areas if needed to make the numbers work out.

This map would completely dilute voters' influence in the Buchanan area and fails to acknowledge the physical and cultural barrier the Blue Ridge Mountains has in distinguishing the community interest of residents of Buchanan and Northern Botetourt County from those in Bedford County and Central Virginia. Very few people in the Buchanan area regularly travel across the Blue Ridge Mountains from Buchanan to Bedford or Lynchburg for work. Buchanan area residents typically travel South to Roanoke for work. There is only one two-lane road that connects Buchanan to Bedford County - which takes nearly 40 minutes because one would have to cross VA-Route 43 across the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail. Who is to expect a Bedford-based legislator to visit Buchanan when there is no other community to visit West of the Blue Ridge? Our own Senator Stephen Newman from Bedford County already rarely travels West to Botetourt County unless there is a political fundraiser or Republican ham dinner. This map would leave the Buchanan and Springwood communities to lean on the neighboring 89th District to support its interests of economic promotion in North Botetourt County, because Buchanan is economically more oriented to Roanoke and culturally more in tune with Alleghany and Southern Rockbridge County than it is with Bedford County. The Buchanan area of Botetourt County is culturally, economically, and politically tied with the communities of Eagle Rock, Fincastle, and Troutville. It makes no sense to separate Buchanan from those communities and lob it with Bedford County alone. Buchanan, Fincastle, Eagle Rock, and Troutville are communities that are tethered together socially, culturally, and policy-wise. Also, splitting rural Botetourt County into three separate districts dilutes the influence of Botetourt County three-fold and does not enhance their voice in Richmond. Approving this map creates a 10-year completely avoidable mistake.

Again, this map continues to demonstrate a very poor understanding of geography and the physical, cultural, and economic barrier of the Blue Ridge Mountains that separates Botetourt County from Bedford County and demonstrates a failure of knowing that there is only one two-lane road that links the Buchanan area to Bedford that takes nearly 40 minutes to cross. This plan, like A-4, dilutes the influence of voters and residents in the Buchanan area and forces them to rely on legislators in proposed District 89 to carry their water in terms of policy making that affects the Buchanan area. This map would completely dilute voters' influence in the Buchanan area and fails to acknowledge the physical and cultural barrier the Blue Ridge Mountains has in distinguishing the community interest of residents of Buchanan and Northern Botetourt County from those in Bedford County and Central Virginia. Very few people in the Buchanan area regularly travel across the Blue Ridge Mountains from Buchanan to Bedford or Lynchburg for work. Buchanan area residents typically travel South to Roanoke for work. There is only one two-lane road that connects Buchanan to Bedford County - which takes nearly 40 minutes because one would have to cross VA-Route 43 across the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Appalachian Trail. Who is to expect a Bedford-based legislator to visit Buchanan when there is no other community to visit West of the Blue Ridge? Our own Senator Stephen Newman from Bedford County already rarely travels West to Botetourt County unless there is a political fundraiser or Republican ham dinner. This map would leave the Buchanan and Springwood communities to lean on the neighboring 89th District to support its interests of economic promotion in North Botetourt County, because Buchanan is economically more oriented to Roanoke and culturally more in tune with Alleghany and Southern Rockbridge County than it is with Bedford County. The Buchanan area of Botetourt County is culturally, economically, and politically tied with the communities of Eagle Rock, Fincastle, and Troutville. It makes no sense to separate Buchanan from those communities and lob it with Bedford County alone. Buchanan, Fincastle, Eagle Rock, and Troutville are communities that are tethered together socially, culturally, and policy-wise. Approving this map creates a 10-year completely avoidable mistake. Please do not divorce the Buchanan area from the rest of Northern Botetourt County. It will only dilute the influence of Buchanan area voters and the interest of the local economy that is not dependent on the Bedford-Lynchburg communities.

This map does not reflect the community of interest in McLean, but instead splits it up among Districts 5, 6, and 15.

As with previous maps. It's ridiculous to split Charlottesville-Albemarle into 3 separate districts. Do a radius around Charlottesville, Keep the rest of Albemarle county whole and cross over to Fluvanna county to take Lake Monticello and surrounding areas if needed to make the numbers work out.

There is no reason to connect Radford and Blacksburg with rural Giles county. There should be more of a Montgomery County based district.

`Just like the old map, there is no reason to split Albermarle County into three districts. There should be one based in Charlottesville and another one surrounding it in Albermarle County. This proposal would split communities of interest in the Charlottesville suburbs.