VPAP · [email protected]

February 24, 2021 at 5:59 PM

Quiz: Do you know 'compact' when you see it?

Virginia's new Redistricting Commission will be required to draw legislative boundaries that are "compact." But what exactly does a compact district look like? Try VPAP's interactive quiz ([link removed]) to see if your perception matches that of a compactness algorithm. [link removed] =========…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 22, 2021 at 4:44 PM

Visual: End of May Elections?

The General Assembly has approved legislation that would end the tradition of cities and towns holding even-year municipal elections in May. The legislation would shift all Virginia general elections to November, at the same time when congressional and presidential races are on the ballot. Governor …

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 21, 2021 at 7:00 PM

VPAP Weekly Update

[link removed] Measuring Caucus Unity [link removed] The level of cohesion on close floor votes differs for each of the floor legislative caucuses. In the House, for instance, the 55 Democrats tend to stick together more often than the 45 Republicans. Use VPAP's exclusive caucus unity tool ([link…

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  David M. Poole · [email protected]

February 20, 2021 at 3:29 PM

The short of it

It may be a short month, but there’s been no shortage of news. VaNews makes it easy to keep up with headlines across Virginia, so you never come up short. Can you imagine rounding up all those clips on your own — before you’ve had your coffee? Well, that might be a long shot. Donate Now ([l…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 18, 2021 at 7:44 PM

Visual: Unemployment Claims Persist

The sudden shock of the COVID-19 pandemic led to weekly jobless claims in Virginia at a level four times higher than at the height of the 2008 recession. VPAP's interactive visualization ([link removed]) shows that Virginia's jobless figures have improved, but ongoing unemployment claims remain thre…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 17, 2021 at 3:44 PM

Visual: Trump's Post-Election Virginia Haul

In the eight weeks following his defeat in November, Donald Trump raised $2.6 million from Virginia donors through the Trump Make America Great Again Committee. VPAP's latest visualization ([link removed]) presents a timeline and an interactive map showing which Virginia localities had the most post…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 14, 2021 at 6:59 PM

VPAP Weekly Update

[link removed] VPAP's 2020 Recap [link removed] In a year of constant change, VPAP stayed focused on our mission of elevating public understanding of Virginia politics. Our 2020 Annual Report ([link removed]) documents our progress last year. The highlights and innovations included were possible …

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 12, 2021 at 6:14 PM

Visual: Party-Line Voting Is Up

In the 2021 General Assembly session, it's become increasingly rare to see disagreements fall along any line other than Democrat v. Republican. VPAP's latest visualization ([link removed]) looks at two measures of party-line voting during the first half of the last four legislative sessions. [link …

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 10, 2021 at 6:59 PM

Visual: Building a Donor Network from Scratch

Some gubernatorial hopefuls this year — bypassing established circles of Virginia campaign donors — have turned to first-time political contributors. VPAP's latest visualization ([link removed]) ranks the major-party candidates based on the percentage of their Virginia donors who had never given to …

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 9, 2021 at 5:07 PM

CORRECTION: Caucus success rates through session cross-over

VPAP published a visual yesterday that incorrectly stated the success rate of bills introduced by members of Republican and Democratic caucuses in each chamber. With fewer bills introduced this year, the success rate at cross-over was up for three of the four caucuses. (See below) The original versi…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 8, 2021 at 6:59 PM

Visual: Fewer Bills, Similar Yield

New bill limits cut by half the number of measures introduced at this year's General Assembly session. But roughly the same percentage of bills — about half — were still alive after Friday's deadline for legislation to "cross over" to the other chamber. VPAPs' visualization includes the details ([li…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 8, 2021 at 3:59 PM

Visual: Women Donors

Sen. Jennifer McClellan and Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy each have relied heavily upon women to underwrite the cost of their campaigns for the Democratic nomination for Governor. VPAP's interactive visual ([link removed]) shows the percentage of money from individual female donors that each candidate f…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 6, 2021 at 6:59 PM

VPAP Weekly Update

[link removed] This Week's "Close Votes" VPAP tracks floor votes in the General Assembly where one-third of the legislators were opposed to the measure. Each "close vote" includes analysis showing how the "yays" and "nays" broke along lines of party, gender, regional and population density. See bi…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 3, 2021 at 6:29 PM

Visual: Lobbying Newcomers

This year's pandemic-shortened General Assembly session has seen fewer companies and other groups that for the first time hired lobbyists to represent their interests. VPAP's latest visualization ([link removed]) groups the 111 new lobbying clients by topic area, and includes links to each client's …

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 3, 2021 at 3:59 PM

Visual: How Each Legislator Would Amend State Budget

State legislators returned to Richmond last month with hundreds of suggestions for amending the 2020-22 state budget. Some budget amendments are big ideas with large price tags. Others are modest ways to direct some state funds back home or affect policy. VPAP calculates the net cost ([link removed]…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

February 2, 2021 at 3:44 PM

Visual: A Record 7 House Democrats Face Primary

A record number of Democrats in the House of Delegates face a challenge from within their own party this year. There could be more, depending on what happens to six additional delegates if they fall short of their bids to move up to statewide office. VPAP's latest visualization ([link removed]) show…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 31, 2021 at 6:59 PM

VPAP Weekly Update

[link removed] How Representative are Virginia's Representatives? [link removed] VPAP's animated video breaks down the characteristics of Virginia's 139 state senators and delegates across race, gender, education and more. Watch it on our Youtube channel ([link removed]) . Candidates Added t…

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  David M. Poole · [email protected]

January 30, 2021 at 3:29 PM

It's a habit

One month down. Time to check in on your resolutions! Even if they’ve fallen by the wayside, you still have something to celebrate. Your daily routine already includes one great habit: reading VaNews. This habit is easy to keep and makes it easy to keep up. Please donate today. Donate ([lin…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 29, 2021 at 5:14 PM

Visual: How Representative are Virginia's Representatives?

This 40-second animated video ([link removed]) breaks down the current 139 members of the Virginia General Assembly by age, gender, race, educational attainment and other demographic characteristics. [link removed] ============================================================ ** ([link removed])…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 27, 2021 at 8:29 PM

Visual: COVID-19 Put a Hit on Virginia Employment

The construction industry was the only sector of Virginia's economy that proved immune to the job losses from COVID-19. This interactive visual ([link removed]) uses 2020 payroll numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to show both the annual and the month-by-month changes in payroll across 11 i…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 26, 2021 at 8:59 PM

Visual: Gubernatorial Fundraising by ZIP Code

Our interactive map ([link removed]) lets you see which candidate for Governor has raised the most money in each ZIP Code. You can click on the map to get a list of donors from each postal code. [link removed] ============================================================ ** ([link removed]) **…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 25, 2021 at 10:09 PM

Visual: Comparing Legislative Candidates' Source of Funds

VPAP shows the percentage of campaign donations ([link removed]) that each General Assembly candidate received last year from six types of sources, including businesses that lobby the state legislature and small donors who give $100 or less. There are filters for incumbents and non-incumbents, who t…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 23, 2021 at 6:59 PM

VPAP Weekly Update

[link removed] Find Year-End Filing Deadline Data Across vpap.org All Virginia candidates filed campaign finance disclosures last week. That information is now integrated throughout our website, making it easy to find top donors, rank candidates' donations by locality and see who is donating to st…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 21, 2021 at 2:59 PM

Visual: The Cost of Local Elections

The average amount spent by winning mayoral candidates in Virginia last fall ranged from $1.1 million in Richmond to $32,000 in Suffolk. This visual takes a look at the varied costs ([link removed]) of city council, mayoral and school board elections in Virginia. (The numbers exclude some small c…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 20, 2021 at 8:14 PM

Visual: Reversal of Fortune

In the first year since taking control in both chambers of the Virginia legislature, Democrats have turned the fundraising tables on Republicans. This visualization shows the off-year totals ([link removed]) raised by incumbent state legislators during the last decade. [link removed] ===========…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 20, 2021 at 7:14 PM

Visual: Dissecting Donations to Statewide Candidates

In VPAP's latest data visualization ([link removed]) , candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor and Attorney General are ranked by the share of money they've raised from seven types of sources. See who relied most on small-dollar donors, businesses that lobby the General Assembly, and more. There's als…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 17, 2021 at 3:59 PM

VPAP Weekly Update

[link removed] Year-End Campaign Finance Reports All candidates and committees filed financial disclosures with the Virginia Department of Elections by midnight Friday. VPAP has broken them down. See which statewide candidates have the most cash-on-hand, as well as reports from those running fo…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 15, 2021 at 11:06 PM

Now Live: Year-End Campaign Finance Reports

VPAP has posted campaign finance disclosures from candidates and non-candidate PACs that were filed by 5 p.m. Friday. The deadline is not until midnight, so a full list of reports will not be available until tomorrow morning. VPAP will update its site overnight. ** Search by Name ([link remo…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 11, 2021 at 8:59 PM

Visual: "Regional Winners/Losers in Redistricting"

These interactive maps and accompanying charts ([link removed]) estimate how far each legislative district is from the "ideal" population. When congressional and state legislative boundaries are redrawn this year, regions with less than the ideal population will lose representation (and political po…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 9, 2021 at 6:59 PM

VPAP Weekly Update

[link removed] Citizen-Members Added to New Redistricting Page [link removed] Meet the eight citizens ([link removed]) selected to join eight legislators on Virginia's bipartisan Redistricting Commission. Click the downward arrow next to each member for their profile, which includes their party, …

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 7, 2021 at 2:14 PM

Meet the 8 citizens named to Redistricting Commission

VPAP has profiles of the eight citizens selected yesterday who will serve alongside eight legislators on Virginia’s new Redistricting Commission. The information is part of a new section of our website that makes it easier to follow the process of redrawing legislative districts. Redistricting…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 5, 2021 at 9:29 PM

Visuals: Analyzing Campaign Donations of 62 Redistricting Finalists

VPAP has added campaign finance donation links to profiles of the 62 finalists ([link removed]) for 8 seats on the Virginia's new Redistricting Commission. With one exception — some nominees are not major political donors. [link removed] ==========================================================…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 4, 2021 at 9:14 PM

Visuals: Who Are the Redistricting Finalists?

** Meet the 62 Nominees ([link removed]) ------------------------------------------------------------ This visual provides an alphabetical listing of the 62 nominees who will be considered for eight citizen seats on Virginia's new Redistricting Commission. There are filters to list people nominate…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

January 2, 2021 at 6:59 PM

VPAP Weekly Update

[link removed] New Features for COVID-19 Dashboard [link removed] VPAP has revamped its COVID-19 Dashboard ([link removed]) . The focus has shifted to recent trends. You'll find statewide maps showing where cases are rising and falling, and you now can chart cases by age and race. Check back each…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 30, 2020 at 4:44 PM

Visual: More than 1,200 apply for 8 Redistricting Commission seats

It took an all-hands-on-deck Tuesday effort by the Division of Legislative Services to process a last-minute rush of applications from citizens seeking to become part of Virginia's new Redistricting Commission. Nearly 450 applied on Monday, the deadline. VPAP has updated its visual ([link removed…

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  Ali Mislowsky · [email protected]

December 30, 2020 at 3:29 PM

Once? Twice? A dozen times?

How many times has this thought crossed your mind this year? “I’ve been meaning to donate, but I just haven’t gotten around to it.” You still have time to support VaNews before the year is up. If the clips made it easier for you to stay informed in a year like no other, please donate today!…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 29, 2020 at 9:15 PM

Visual: Key Redistricting Votes

Only two of the eight legislators named to Virginia's new Redistricting Commission voted for all four key pieces of legislation that led to a bipartisan process for drawing legislative districts. Most favored giving voters the right to decide ([link removed]) whether to enshrine bipartisan redistric…

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  VPAP Events · [email protected]

December 20, 2020 at 3:29 PM

Last Chance to Register for Monday's Webinar

Bipartisan Redistricting: What to Expect Register now for tomorrow's webinar! Join us on Zoom Monday at 11 a.m. VPAP hosts a distinguished panel who will discuss what to expect when Virginia's new, bipartisan redistricting commission meets early next year. The process is underway to select mem…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 19, 2020 at 6:59 PM

VPAP Weekly Update

[link removed] Register for Monday's Webinar How much will the inclusion of citizens change Virginia's process of drawing district lines? What will success look like? And what can you expect when the new redistricting commission meets for the first time next year? Join VPAP this Monday, Decembe…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 15, 2020 at 6:29 PM

Join VPAP - Bipartisan Redistricting: What to Expect

Monday at 2 p.m. The process is underway to select members of a new, bipartisan redistricting commission, which Virginia voters approved in November. The General Assembly has named eight members from the legislature. The commission is taking applications for eight citizen members. Join us for …

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 14, 2020 at 9:25 PM

Visual: Who has Applied (So Far) to the Redistricting Commission?

Halfway through a month-long application process, 88 people have offered their services as one of eight citizen members of Virginia's new Redistricting Commission. Those selected will serve alongside eight legislators. This visual provides a demographic breakdown ([link removed]) by gender, age, …

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  David M. Poole · [email protected]

December 12, 2020 at 3:29 PM

One thing we have in common

Everyone does the holidays differently. You might enjoy having the brightest house on the block. A quiet family gathering. Or takeout lo mein. No matter how you’re ending the year, you and more than 18,000 readers across Virginia start each morning the same way: VaNews. Like the best holiday t…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 8, 2020 at 9:54 PM

Visual: Money Behind Redistricting Ballot Initiative

This data visualization ([link removed]) takes a closer look at the $2.4 million raised by FairMapsVirginia, the group that led a successful effort to pass a statewide ballot measure that enshrines bipartisan redistricting in the state constitution. [link removed] ===============================…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 7, 2020 at 3:44 PM

Visual: Where Were College Students?

Polling predicted a surge of young voters this year. But three available metrics ([link removed]) suggest Virginia voters 25 and younger may have represented a smaller share of the electorate this year. A definitive picture of how the pandemic affected voting behavior — such as more students voti…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 7, 2020 at 2:29 PM

Last Call: Two-Minute Survey

How are we doing? Please take our quick, 10-question survey before it closes today at 5 p.m. Start Survey ([link removed]) You can take the survey anonymously. Or you can provide your contact information to enter to win a $100 Amazon gift card. We value your feedback. Thanks for helping us un…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 5, 2020 at 3:59 PM

VPAP Weekly Update

[link removed] Tell Us What You Think! If you haven't already, please take a few minutes to let us know how vpap.org is working for you. Our annual survey is just 10 quick questions! Start Survey ([link removed]) You can take the survey anonymously, or provide your contact information to enter…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 3, 2020 at 10:46 PM

Now Live: Post-Election Campaign Finance Reports

VPAP has posted campaign finance disclosures filed by candidates for local office on the November ballot and committees that sought to pass or defeat ballot issues. They cover activity from October 23 through November 26. The reports below were filed by 5 p.m. today. The deadline is midnight toni…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 3, 2020 at 7:14 PM

Visual: Limits to Put Brakes on Legislation

Virginia lawmakers accustomed to introducing dozens of measures will need to be more selective next month when the annual legislative session begins. This visual ranks legislators ([link removed]) by the number of bills introduced last session. [link removed] ====================================…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

December 2, 2020 at 3:14 PM

Visual: Turnout in 'Trump Elections'

Unusually high voter turnout ([link removed]) was a hallmark of the four November elections that took place during the administration of Republican President Donald Trump. Turnout in this year's presidential election hit a modern record of 74.6% this year. Perhaps most astonishing was the off-off…

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  VPAP · [email protected]

November 30, 2020 at 8:44 PM

Visual: Side Effects of Early Voting

The explosion of early voting in Virginia this year had two impacts ([link removed]) . First, it sowed confusion on election night as initial returns from in-person voting precincts favored Republicans, while early and absentee voters — whose picks weren't reported until late at night — overwhelm…

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