by Michelle Moore, Bridge2Blue
It’s appalling that opponents of Virginia’s redistricting amendment are waving the “fairness” flag as an objection while they sow misinformation to confuse voters. In fact, Virginia’s redistricting is a response to the White House’s plan to secure the midterm elections for themselves – regardless of what the majority of voters want – by pressuring Republican-led states to redraw their maps mid-decade. Virginians, like the vast majority of Americans, vehemently oppose White House and Congressional Republican policies – and they do not condone changing the rules to engineer a Republican midterm win.
Since January 2025, Virginians and their communities have been hit hard by job cuts (thanks to DOGE, tariffs, etc.). Meanwhile, Republican legislation (e.g., the “Big Ugly Bill”) has undermined healthcare and public education, driven up prices, and aggressively funded ICE. This upcoming special election is Virginia’s chance to vote in support of redistricting and to define for ourselves what justice and fairness looks like.
The April 21 special election on temporary redistricting is transparent and allows the voters – not politicians and not the White House – to decide. It’s a temporary measure (it will expire in 2030) for extraordinary times; after which redistricting decisions will revert to being made by an independent, bipartisan redistricting commission. This election puts power in the hands of the people to fight back against national Republican attempts to game the system.
As pointed out by former President Barack Obama (see video, below, along with one by Gov. Abigail Spanberger):
“Over the past year, several Republican controlled states have taken the unprecedented step of redrawing their congressional maps in the middle of the decade,” and “they’ve done it for a simple reason. To give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms this fall. In April, Virginians can respond by making sure your voting power is not diminished by what Republicans are doing in other states.”
Of course, given Trump’s intense unpopularity, Republicans know that they cannot win the midterms, so Texas and Missouri, following North Carolina’s example, redrew their congressional maps to favor Republicans – all without voter consent. If fairness is a concern, then where were their objections when Texas redrew its maps? Where were their outcries when Missouri, Ohio, and North Carolina redrew their maps without voter consent? And why were these critics silent when Virginia’s Republican representatives voted to support the so-called “Save America Act” – egregious Republican legislation aimed at enabling federal access to state voter rolls and disenfranchising millions of eligible voters, including women, veterans, the elderly, and students?
The fact is, Republicans lack any credibility when it comes to fairness. Opponents of redistricting have cherry-picked phrases to confuse voters and create discord. In a recent ad, for instance, they falsely claimed that support for redistricting to oppose the White House’s power grab undermines voting and civil rights progress. This could not be further from the truth. As outlined U.S. Representative Jennifer McClellan in her interview with Reverend Al Sharpton “This amendment is for Virginia to level the playing field after Donald Trump bullied Republican states like Texas and Missouri into doing mid-decade redistricting to, in his words, find him more seats.”
And Republicans have a long history of gaming the system. When Congressional Democrats attempted to overhaul campaign finance, strengthen ethics rules, and end partisan gerrymandering, Republicans unanimously opposed the “For the People Act” (H.R. 1/S. 1). If opponents to redistricting were truly the champions of fairness they claim to be, they would have pressured Republicans to support the “For The People Act” – a bill which would have prevented Texas from redrawing their congressional maps in 2025. Unsurprisingly, given that Republican tactics clearly mirror their harmful policies, they didn’t do that.
The bottom line: Virginia is holding a special election on redistricting because the White House and national Republicans have forced us to take a stand. On April 21 (or you can vote early right now), Virginians have the opportunity to push back and reclaim our future by voting YES in support of temporary redistricting. We all should do just that.
UPDATE 3/11:
NEW AD: President Obama Urges Virginians to Vote YES Statewide On Digital and Television
Richmond, Va. — Today, the YES Campaign (Virginians for Fair Elections) is releasing a new television and digital ad featuring President Barack Obama, urging Virginians to vote YES on the upcoming redistricting referendum. With early voting open now, President Obama warns that MAGA Republicans are attempting to rig the 2026 midterm elections — and that Virginia voters now have the chance to stop them.
“Virginia, we are counting on you,” said President Obama. “Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years. But you can stop them — by voting YES by April 21st.”
The ad will run statewide on television and digital platforms as the campaign ramps up its voter education and turnout effort during early voting.
“We’re grateful for President Obama’s leadership in this fight to level the playing field,” said YES Campaign Campaign Manager Keren Charles Dongo. “Virginians can now hear directly from the president they trust about how a YES vote can stop MAGA’s power grab and make the difference for our Commonwealth and our country.”
WATCH PRESIDENT OBAMA’S AD HERE:
Read the full transcript of President Obama’s ad below:
Virginia, we are counting on you.
Republicans want to steal enough seats in Congress to rig the next election and wield unchecked power for two more years.
But you can stop them — by voting YES by April 21st.
Help put our elections back on a level playing field, and let voters decide — not politicians.
This is the responsible thing to do.
Help us chart a better path forward, Virginia.
Vote YES by April 21st.
For more information, visit www.
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About Virginians for Fair Elections
Virginians for Fair Elections is the campaign advocating for a constitutional amendment to protect fair representation and ensure Virginia voters — not politicians — have the final say over congressional district maps. The amendment is a temporary, emergency exception designed to level the playing field for Virginia’s congressional elections, with the Commonwealth’s bipartisan redistricting commission resuming full authority after the 2030 census.
