Virginia Democrats say they need to redraw the state’s congressional maps in response to Republican gerrymandering in other states.
Early voting in the statewide referendum on whether Virginia Democrats can redraw congressional districts to offset Republican gerrymandering in other states began on Friday.
Early in-person voting on the referendum runs through April 18 and the election is scheduled for April 21.
At issue is whether Virginia should amend its state constitution to allow Democrats to temporarily redraw the state’s congressional districts in their favor.
Virginia Democrats say they need to do so in response to President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign that persuaded Republican-led states to gerrymander their districts so the GOP wins more seats in this fall’s elections to determine which party controls Congress.
Trump began a national redistricting push when his administration put pressure on Texas Republicans last year to gerrymander its map in favor of the GOP. That set off efforts in North Carolina, Ohio, and Missouri to bolster Republicans’ edge in the midterms. In response, California Democrats drew a new map that voters approved that could net Democrats as many as five new seats, potentially offsetting the five seats Republicans are expected to gain in Texas.
As US Sen. Mark Warner went into vote on Friday in Alexandria, he told Dogwood that Democrats need to level the playing field in response to Republican gerrymandering in Texas and other states.
“I get a lot of questions all the time, people saying, ‘What can we do you do to reign in the president?’” Warner said. “Well, we can take back the House.”
If approved by voters, the new Virginia maps are expected to help Democrats pick up three and possibly four seats in the US House.
Republicans are challenging the legality of the redistricting referendum on procedural grounds. But Virginia’s Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled for a second time that the vote can proceed while it reviews the cases.
Cathryn Sacra, a Democrat, voted in favor of redistricting despite her mixed feelings about it. She supported the 2020 referendum to establish a nonpartisan redistricting referendum in Virginia.
But she supports mid-decade redistricting in Virginia because of Trump’s unusual step to pressure states to gerrymander their maps along with the other ways he’s hurting the country.
Sacra is bothered that Congress blocked a resolution to limit Trump’s war powers as the death toll rises in the US and Israel’s war in Iran. She hoped it motivates people to get out and vote.
“I think it is incredibly important that the Democrats take over at least the House,” Sacra told Dogwood. “I don’t know if we really have a chance in the Senate.”
Frank Fannon, a former Republican running as an Independent for Alexandria City Council, told Dogwood he opposed mid-decade redistricting in Virginia.
“It’s wrong in Texas, it’s wrong in North Carolina, and it’s wrong here in Virginia,” Fannon said.
Asked if Trump is good for America, Fannon declined to comment.
On Thursday, Former President Barack Obama and Gov. Abigail Spanberger urged Virginia voters to support the referendum.
“This amendment gives you the power to level the playing field in the midterms this fall,” Obama said in a video. “And voters will have the final say over what the maps look like.”
