Supporters of the ‘yes’ vote on Virginia’s April 21 redistricting referendum stressed during a town hall with Caroline County voters Monday evening that the measure would be a temporary reform to offset a push by Republicans in other states to gain more control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Del. Nicole Cole, a Democrat who represents Caroline and Spotsylvania in the House of Delegates, hosted the event, which was initially scheduled to take place at St. John Baptist Church in Caroline, but was restricted to online only because of treacherous weather conditions.
Cole told participants that President Donald Trump implored Republican leaders in red states to “rig their states’ elections to try to manipulate the [mid-terms] in November.”
“So, we had an opportunity through our legislature to pass a constitutional amendment to do a temporary redistricting to make sure that if Virginians wanted, we have the ability to level the playing field and make sure our voices are still heard in the national discourse,” Cole said.
The redistricting effort, if passed, would likely give Democrats a 10-1 majority in the U.S. House. Currently, Democrats have a 6-5 edge.
Republicans have widely panned the proposed map because they believe it unfairly favors Democrats. But Cole and others who spoke at the town hall on Monday said it’s not a power play by Democrats, but rather a necessary tactic to ensure fairness at the national level.
Del. Phillip Scott (R-Spotsylvania) said in an interview with the Free Press that he and other Republicans believe the maps are fairly drawn as they stand. Scott said the maps “as closely as possible represent the overall voting public of Virginians.” He said a 10-1 split isn’t a fair representation.
“I have a major issue with any state, Republican-controlled or Democratic-controlled, that silences the voices of voters with gerrymandering — period,” Scott said. “We did our redistricting commission to be a beacon. We have laws against gerrymandering, and in order for this thing to go through, Democrats had to suspend the laws.”
Scott said the constitution is a “sacred document” that shouldn’t be “haphazardly changed with temporary measures.”
He said it will require another expensive referendum to overturn the measure in 2030. He said he doesn’t buy the Democrats’ argument that the redistricting effort will protect Virginians’ interests at the federal level by combating gerrymandering in Republican-led states.
“They’re ignoring the fact that Democratic states gerrymander, as well, and we should be a beacon of the way things should be,” Scott said. “That’s how it’s been since the founding of the United States of America. Virginia was an example. Virginia didn’t follow; Virginia led. And what they’re doing is they’re making Virginia follow, not leading a charge. You have Democrat states like Illinois that said, ‘No, we’re not going to gerrymander.’ We could do the same thing but they’re falling into this trap of, ‘Well, they’re doing it.’ Are we in middle school?”
Jackson Miller, of Virginians for Fair Elections, who is field director of the organization’s Yes campaign, said during the town hall that it’s important to emphasize that the redistricting measure is temporary with a specific “sunset date” of 2030. Miller said Trump’s push for Republican states to gerrymander districts makes this a “unique moment” that requires a “unique response.”
“Was this the fight that any of us anticipated when we were getting Del. Cole on the ballot and collecting signatures for her? No,” Miller said. “But this is just the reality of where we’re at. We have to be clear, we have to be confident, and we have to be very concise with what is at stake.”
Miller said if the referendum is successful, it will also push Democrats out of their comfort zones because there will likely be more primaries. He said candidates in Northern Virginia will be required to learn more about the rural parts of certain districts once the realignment takes place.
“To me, there is a very compelling pro-Democracy argument that if you want the privilege of representing Virginia in the halls of Congress, you’re going to have to work for it,” Miller said. “That means you might have to drive a few more hours every day. That means you’re going to have to meet new people who may or may not agree with you or come from different experiences or vantage points. That means you’re going to earn the vote.”
Most of the town hall attendees were Caroline residents. Reuben Rock, the president of the county’s branch of the NAACP, expressed concern about mailers purporting that Gov. Abigail Spanberger supports a ‘no’ vote on the referendum, and tying a ‘yes’ vote to the Jim Crow era of segregation and anti-Black laws. Rock said that with many people unsure of the meaning of the referendum, those types of tactics create uncertainty.
“It’s unfortunate, but they’re going to great lengths to confuse us because they think we’re ignorant to their process, and one was addressed to my mother, who is 84 years old,” Rock said. “They have pictures of the old South to trick you and confuse you about this process. It’s so unfortunate, but we have to rise above that because we know how we need to vote and we need to be about our business to get our people to the polls because this is imperative.”
Cole said many are unaware that there is even an election next month. She encouraged participants to spread the word about the referendum.
Miller told Caroline residents that their county is a pivotal locality in state and national elections. Caroline voted twice for Democratic President Barack Obama, but also supported Trump three times. It narrowly voted for Spanberger and Cole in the November election.
“i know Caroline is the unsung bellwether of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” Miller said. “There’s so much change happening in your neighborhoods right now that is reflective of so much of the south. So, Caroline will determine how this thing goes. There’s no question about it.”
There were inquiries from participants regarding the change of location for early voting in Caroline and Spotsylvania.
In Caroline, fall early voting was held in the expanded back portion of the county administrative building at 212 North Main Street in Bowling Green. But, for the referendum, voters must walk through the front door and turn left into a small room.
In Spotsylvania, fall early voting occurred at the Lee Hill 1 building, 10300 Spotsylvania Avenue. But to vote early on the referendum, voters must trek to the Office of Elections at 4708 Southpoint Parkway.
