Pritt Law Firm, PLLC

4 Main Street, P.O. Box 708 Union, West Virginia 24983

Jeffrv A. Pritt, Attorney Darla G. Miller, Paralegal
1w M. Morgan. Secretary
www.PrittLawFirm.com

Telephone (304) 772-4700 Fax (304) 772-4705

JefkPritt@PrittLawFirm.com DarlaMiller@PrittLawFirm.com IvyMorgan@PrittLawFirm.com

August 10, 2011

VIA

FACSIMILE AND

REGULAR MAIL

Earl Ray Tomblin, Governor State Capitol 1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East Charleston, West Virginia 25305
Re:

House Bill 106

Redistricting

My client:
Dear Governor

Monroe County Commission

Tomblin:

I am writing to you on behalf of the Monroe County Commission who have retained me to respectfully request that you veto House
Bill 106 which changes the apportionment of the members of the The basis for this request is that the House of Delegates. provisions of this Bill are unconstitutional as applied to Monroe
County.

It is the understanding of the Commission that this Bill, as passed by the Legislature and sent to your office, will carve Monroe County into three separate delegate districts which will be shared with Mercer County, Summers County and Greenbrier County,

respectively.1 Under the prior apportionment scheme Monroe County had been kept completely intact as part of the 26th District (along
with part of Summers County). However, Monroe County citizens will now have a substantially lower population total in each of the

xThe northern end of Monroe County will be included with Greenbrier County as part of the 42nd District where there will
be a population disparity of 33,589 to 5,294 in favor of

Greenbrier County. The southern end of our county will now go with Mercer County as part of the 27th District where it will be outnumbered by a total of 55,513 to 2,826. The middle part of our county will now be aligned with the entirety of Summers

County as part of the 28th District where it faces a population

differential of 13,927 to 5,382. Not even our county seat of Union is left intact, as the area around it will be split between
the new Districts being formed with Greenbrier and Summers
counties.

Jeffry A. Pritt
Attorney at Law

Earl Ray Tomblin, Governor August 10, 2011 Page 2

three new districts that have been created, and our county is not
guaranteed a delegate from any one of these Districts.

It is my understanding that Monroe County has always had a

delegate in the House since the formation of our state.

Furthermore,

my review

of

the

Constitution

of

West

Virginia

indicates that counties meeting certain population

levels are

required to be directly represented in the House.2

It is certainly

true that this requirement may not be accomplished in a manner which violates the equal protection requirements of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. See generally, Goines v. Rockefeller. 338 F.Supp. 1189 (S.D.W.Va. 1972). However, it is equally clear that these objectives may be achieved in a manner

which violates neither the United States or West Virginia Constitutions. See generally, Goines v. Heiskell. 362 F.Supp. 313
(S.D.W.Va. 1973).

The present plan,

as submitted to you by the Legislature,

historical and natural

completely ignores political subdivision,

boundary lines as applied to Monroe County. Most importantly, it fails to include any residency requirement by which Monroe County
will be guaranteed a delegate from at least one of the three new

Districts into which it has been placed.

violation of the precepts and principles

This is clearly in
set forth in the

Constitution of West Virginia which insures that a county with the

population of Monroe will at least have a seat in the House.

Moreover,

and

perhaps

most

disturbing,

is

that

there

was

absolutely no reason for Monroe County to have been affected by the reapportionment of delegates this time around. The population of

2Article VI, Section 7 of the Constitution of West Virginia

defines a "ratio of representation for the House of Delegates" which would currently be equal to approximately 18,530 in population per the 2010 census results. Monroe County had a total population in 2010 of 13,502, which is greater than threefifths of the "ratio of representation", which is the threshold set out in Article VI, Section 6 of our Constitution for a county to be guaranteed representation in the House per the last sentence of Section 7. While this provision, when read in pari materia with the United States Constitution, may not necessarily guarantee that county boundaries be absolutely respected in the drawing of districts, it does at least require that counties meeting the threshold be given a seat in the House via residency requirements.

Jeffry a. Pritt
Attorney at Law

Earl Ray Tomblin, August 10, 2011 Page 3

Governor

the previous 26th District was absolutely stable, having lost only a total of 49 persons since the 2000 census.3 The 2010 population
of the District was 18,021, which is well within the tolerance

levels required to satisfy equal protection concerns (and much closer to the preferred number than many of the new districts which

have been proposed) . And, the 26th District kept the boundary lines of Monroe County completely intact thereby respecting important
political, historical and natural boundaries which have now been

ignored.4

Perhaps most importantly of all, the prior existence of

the 26th District demonstrates that the creation of a district in our area which meets all constitutional requirements - both of the United States and West Virginia Constitutions is not a
difficult task.

The Monroe County Commission sincerely regrets requesting that this Bill be vetoed, but if it is enacted then our county will have no voice in our Legislature for the first time in the history of

3It is possible that members of the Legislature may have

been confused regarding the population of Monroe County when drafting this Bill. The 2010 United States Census reports that Monroe County lost 1,081 residents for a decrease of 7.4%; and,
that Summers County gained 928 residents for a 7.1% increase. However, this is incorrect, as there was no significant population change in either county. In 2000, the Census counted the inmates at Alderson Federal Prison as part of the Monroe County population. Although part of the prison grounds are located in Monroe County, the living quarters are in Summers County, and the inmates had always been counted as part of the Summers County population previously. In 2010 the Census corrected this one-time error and our county lost the inmates and Summers regained them. This is reflected in the population count
for the 26th District as cited above which shows there was no net

change in the population for the entire district which encompasses the federal prison grounds in both counties.

"Although part of Summers County was included within the 26th

District, that county was guaranteed a delegate as part of the

previous version of the 27th District.

To my knowledge, the

residents of the Talcott and Forest Hill areas of Summers County

which were included in the 26th District along with Monroe County have not opposed the continuation of that district.

Jeffry A. Pritt
Attorney at Law

Earl Ray Tomblin, August 10, 2011 Page 4

Governor

our state.5 Obviously, it would be much easier to correct this deficiency now. This is a grave injustice to Monroe County, and one which is constitutionally deficient. Consequently, since the Legislature has chosen to ignore the rights of our citizens, it is the Commission's sincere hope that you will act to veto this Bill and send it back to the Legislature
with instructions to reinstate the 26''' District as it was, and to reapportion delegates in those areas of the state where there has

been

an

actual

population

change.6

Thank

you

for

your

consideration of this matter. I would also welcome the opportunity to further discuss the issues involving Monroe County with your
legal counsel.
Very truly you-rs,

cc:

J.

Crosier

B. Boggs M. Caputo

R. Canterbury
J. Frazier

R. M.

Moye Staggers

'There is no state senator from Monroe County since our

current senatorial district is shared with Greenbrier and Mercer

counties who dominate the population, and our proposed new senatorial district will be controlled by Fayette and Greenbrier counties. Since we have virtually no hope of having an elected senator from our county it makes our single seat in the House all that more important so we at least have one voice in Charleston.

6I am providing a copy of this letter to our local delegate,

to the chairman and vice-chairman of the House Select Committee

on Redistricting, and to those members of the Committee who were

assigned responsibility for our area, so that they will be advised of the position of the Monroe County Commission with
regard to this important matter.