The most common objection is that there is pending litigation. While true—the U.S. Supreme Court may strike down a dozen House seats as a racial gerrymander—we are not discussing racial gerrymandering. And even if a ruling impacted reform, a constitutional amendment takes two years to pass through Virginia’s system. That gives us plenty of time to stop the process next year if I’m wrong.

The other common refrain is that we have so much time before 2021’s next redistricting. Assuming the House remains in Republican control, the governorship and the Senate are up for grabs. But wouldn’t it make more sense to set fair rules today before we know who could control the process? The closer we get to 2021, the harder it will be for us to consider these reforms.

Ohio, New York and Nebraska have all passed reforms through their legislatures well in advance of pending redistricting.

The worst response I’ve heard is that the Democrats gerrymandered forever, and now it’s the Republican’s turn. This logic fails basic standards of decency. And I’m not sure the computerized, hyper-gerrymandered state we are in today is comparable to pen-and-paper efforts of years past.