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Vote Confusion in Virginia
Virginia voters headed to the polls Tuesday on a redistricting referendum that Democrats say could add as many as four Democratic seats to the House of Representatives, while Republicans and President Donald Trump argue it is a “blatant partisan power grab.”
“When Randi Buerlein arrived to vote early in Virginia's redistricting election, she said she didn't like what she saw.”
NPR described voters at early voting in Hanover County, where Randi Buerlein said she was looking at a booth with a picture of Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger saying, “Don’t be fooled,” while she said the ads made it look like Spanberger was saying, “Vote no.”
NPR also reported that the state is voting on whether to redraw the congressional voting map, which would give Democrats an edge in all but one of the state’s 11 seats, and that “The new map could result in Democrats gaining four seats in the U.S. House.”
The Hill reported that Trump made a last-minute pitch on Monday evening on a telerally call with Speaker Mike Johnson, urging voters to reject the measure that could give Democrats “as many as four pickup opportunities in the House this November.”
Fox News likewise quoted Trump urging Virginians to reject the ballot measure, saying, “This referendum is a blatant partisan power grab that nobody’s really ever seen anything like it.”
Across the coverage, the referendum is framed as a mid-decade redrawing: AP said the proposed constitutional amendment would bypass Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting commission to allow use of new congressional districts approved by state lawmakers in this year’s midterm elections, and it “needs a simple majority to pass.”
How the Referendum Works
The referendum would temporarily change how Virginia’s congressional districts are drawn, with the proposed constitutional amendment designed to bypass the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission.
AP said the amendment would “bypass the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission to allow use of new congressional districts approved by state lawmakers in this year’s midterm elections,” and it would do so as Virginia becomes “the latest front in a national redistricting battle.”
NBC News described the constitutional amendment as seeking to “temporarily bypass the state’s bipartisan redistricting commission — which voters overwhelmingly approved a few years ago — to enact a new congressional map for the rest of the decade,” and it “would also return mapmaking duties to the commission after the 2030 census.”
USA Today similarly said the ballot referendum would “temporarily change the boundaries of the state's congressional districts,” and it would “revert back to ones drawn by a 16-member bipartisan commission after the 2030 Census.”
The Hill reported that the measure “would be temporary” and would allow Democrats to install a map that gives their party a “10-1 edge in the congressional delegation,” while Virginia’s current House delegation has a “narrow Democratic 6-5 edge.”
Fox News added that Democrats currently hold “six of the 11 House seats in Virginia,” but the new map would hand Democrats a “huge 10-1 advantage.”
NPR said the vote is contentious and that the pro-redistricting side has “massively outspent its opponents,” while also noting that the issue is a “toss-up” for voters even as the ballot question and referendum committees’ names confuse people.
Trump, Johnson, and the Campaign Clash
The referendum’s messaging battle is anchored in direct statements from President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, with both sides portraying the vote as decisive for representation in Washington.
““This referendum is a blatant partisan power grab that nobody’s really ever seen anything like it,” Trump said on the telerally call with Speaker Mike Johnson (R.)”
The Hill reported that Trump told a telerally call with Johnson, “This referendum is a blatant partisan power grab that nobody’s really ever seen anything like it,” and he added, “Please get out and vote and vote no. It’s very simple,” while also warning that “Virginia Democrats will eliminate four out of five congressional seats.”
Fox News quoted the same telerally call, including Trump’s line that “It’s the liberal extremist Gov. Abigail Spanberger, too bad, and the far-left Democrats in Richmond,” and it repeated Trump’s instruction: “Just vote no.”
The Hill also quoted Johnson saying, “We have to stand up for fair maps and we have to vote no,” and it said Johnson argued that “As your Speaker of the House, I see firsthand every single day how all five of those members are leading the fight on things like lowering costs and securing our borders.”
On the other side, The Hill quoted Dan Gottlieb, a spokesperson for the campaign advocating for the redistricting ballot measure, Virginians for Fair Elections, who said Republicans were “rigging” the midterms and argued, “Tomorrow, Virginians can level the playing field. Vote YES and keep the power where it belongs — with voters.”
NPR described how the confusion is intensified by contradictory mail and TV ads, including a pro-redistricting side that uses a “big picture of our governor saying, 'Don't be fooled,'” while Buerlein said the anti-redistricting messaging made it look like Spanberger was saying, “Vote no.”
NPR also reported that the anti-redistricting TV spot released by Virginians for Fair Maps uses a “2017 video appearance of Obama speaking against gerrymandering,” while the pro-redistricting side included Obama appearing in ads encouraging people to vote yes this year.
Dark Money and Confusing Messaging
NPR reported that voters also struggle to determine who is funding the redistricting campaigns, because “Funding from dark-money groups, 501(c)(4)s structured so donors do not need to be disclosed, has made up the bulk of campaign contributions on both sides of the issue.”
NPR said the Justice for Democracy PAC mailed voters anti-redistricting material with images of the Ku Klux Klan next to the text, “They want to silence your voice,” and it reported that the group “has received just shy of $10 million from Per Aspera Policy Incorporated, a 501(c)(4).”
NPR also said Virginians for Fair Elections, the group behind the yes vote, “has received over $64 million in contributions,” and it said the group’s donors include the 501(c)(4) The Fairness Project and House Majority Forward, a nonprofit linked to Democratic U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
For the no vote, NPR reported that Virginians for Fair Maps “has received $19 million across six donations from its own 501(c)(4) — also named Virginians for Fair Maps.”
NPR described how even the names of the referendum committees can confuse voters, with Virginians for Fair Elections encouraging people to vote for redistricting and Virginians for Fair Maps against redistricting.
The Hill reported that “Nearly $100 million has poured in between both the “yes” and “no” campaigns for the referendum,” and it said much of it is “fueled by dark money groups.”
USA Today similarly said “a total of roughly $100 million in spending from both sides has been fueled mostly from secret donors,” and it reported that Virginians for Fair Elections “has raked in about $64 million” while the no side “has raised about $20 million.”
Legal Stakes and National Impact
The referendum’s consequences extend beyond Tuesday’s vote because the state Supreme Court is considering whether the redistricting plan is illegal, which could make the referendum results meaningless.
“Even if Democrats are successful Tuesday, the public vote may not be the final word.”
AP said, “Even if Democrats are successful Tuesday, the public vote may not be the final word,” because “The state Supreme Court is considering whether the redistricting plan is illegal in a case that could make the referendum results meaningless.”
USA Today described the broader national stakes by saying the partisan sprint to redraw congressional lines is “the largest mid-decade flurry since the 1800s,” and it tied Virginia’s vote to President Donald Trump’s push that started last year.
It also said the House is currently divided “217-to-213 in favor of the GOP,” and it described the potential shift if the referendum passes as changing the likely makeup of Virginia’s delegation “from a current six-to-five Democratic split, to as many as a 10 Democrats.”
NBC News said the special election is “the latest fight in the mid-decade redistricting war that has unfolded across the country as both parties vie for control of the narrowly divided House,” and it described how Democrats framed the effort as a response to Trump pressuring GOP-led states to redraw their district lines last summer.
On the campaign trail, AP reported that Trump weighed in via social media Tuesday morning telling Virginians to “vote ‘no’ to save your country!” and it said Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin called the redistricting plan “dishonest” and “brazenly deceptive.”
AP also quoted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries saying a vote to approve the redraw “will serve as a check and balance on this out-of-control Trump administration.”
