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WHEELING -- West Virginia’s political landscape likely will change with the 2020 Census, and Del. Erikka Storch wants to be among lawmakers crafting new congressional and delegate districts.
Storch, R-Ohio, said she is interested in serving on the state’s redistricting committee this year, which is likely to convene during a special session this summer.
The U.S.Census Bureau announced this week the COVID pandemic will cause it to miss year-end deadlines for providing some census information. Data used by states to determine political lines isn’t due until April 1.
West Virginia is “widely expected” to lose one of its three Congressional representatives, Storch said.
In addition, the West Virginia Legislature in 2018 passed legislation creating 100 separate single-delegate districts in the state.
This means the lines for 100 new delegate districts will be drawn this year, and voters in each district will elect just one delegate in years to come.
Within the Northern Panhandle, voters in Delegate District 1 in Hancock County, District 3 in Ohio County and District 4 in Marshall County presently all elect two delegates to represent them in Charleston.
Just one delegate is elected in District 2 in Brooke County, District 5 in Wetzel County and District 6 in Tyler County.
Storch said she isn’t certain yet what the change will mean to local communities until she sees the final census data.
“We will have to start at the top of the state,” she explained. “In this part of the state, you are limited to moving the line either north or south.
“The representation will probably shift a little bit, but we haven’t seen the final numbers.”
Ideally, each delegate should represent about one percent of the state’s population, which is estimated by the U.S. Census bureau at 1.792 million as of 2019. This means each delegate should have about 18,000 constituents.
State law allows there be a variance of 5 percent above or below that figure, according to Storch.
Ohio County’s representation is presently at the maximum 5 percent above the mark based on 2010 census numbers, while Marshall and Brooke are under the deviation.
“For us in the Northern Panhandle, I don’t think much will change for us,” Storch said. “That’s because as a body we get together on a lot of local issues.”
She said if there is an issue at Oglebay Park, park offiicials will contact other state lawmakers in the Northern Panhandle, and West Liberty University does so in a similar fashion, according to Storch.
“I think our Northern Panhandle entities are very good at reaching out to the entire Northern Panhandle delegation and including us all so we all have the knowledge we need on the issue,” she said.
Storch said she has made her interest in serving on the committee known to House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay.
“I do think it is important to have somebody from the Northern Panhandle in the majority party on the committee,” she said.