Today is election day in Virginia; polls are open from 6 am to 7 pm, as always, and you can vote at your regular polling location. For some background on today’s election, see:
- With the Final Day of Early Voting TODAY and the Election on Tuesday, Sam Shirazi Looks at “Shy Yes Voters vs. Skeptical No Independents” (“I don’t know if the Republicans’ strategy of making this a referendum on Spanberger necessarily is going to work”)
- President Barack Obama Releases GOTV Vote YES Message Ahead of Last Day of Early Vote and Election Day (“By voting YES, you have the chance to do something important — not just for the Commonwealth, but for our entire country.”)
- Video: With Just Two More Days of Early Voting Before 4/21 Election, Check Out the “Yes for Virginia Live Rally” at 7 pm
- Multilingual Grassroots Coalition Outreach Campaign for “Fight Back Vote YES” (“First-of-its-Kind Video Series Reaches Virginia Voters in Five Languages Across Virginia’s Diverse Communities”)
- “The ‘Trolley Problem’ and Why I Voted YES on the Virginia Redistricting Referendum” (“President Trump’s brazen attempt to fix the upcoming midterms has put… Democrats in a quandary” – but the answer is clear; VOTE YES!)
- New State Navigate Poll on Virginia Redistricting Referendum: YES 51%-NO 45% (Poll finds Abigail Spanberger (at 47%-47%) is “one of the most unpopular Governors in the country”)
- Video: Gov. Abigail Spanberger Asks “if everybody hated me, why is everybody putting my face on their mailers for the referendum?”
- Smitty Connolly and Michelle Moore: “This Is OUR Democracy—Virginia Is Taking a Big Step toward Protecting It”
- New WaPo/Schar Poll: VA Redistricting Referendum Leads by 9 Pts (53%-44%) Among Registered Voters, 5 Pts (52%-47%) Among Likely Voters (Dems support it 91%-7%; Rs oppose it 89%-10%)
- Video: NAACP Virginia Confronts Jim Crow Disinformation in Redistricting Referendum Affecting Black Voters
- Top Trump Donor and Tech Billionaire Peter Thiel Revealed as Funder of False, Racist “NO” Ads (“The same megadonor network backing Donald Trump and JD Vance’s agenda is now trying to manipulate Virginia voters with lies.”)
- Finale Norton: “Stand on the side of patriotism. Stand on the side of intelligence. Stand on the side of a level playing field. April 21st—vote YES.”
- Saying “YES” to Virginia’s Redistricting Amendment Is a Great Way to Say “NO” to Republicans’ Voter Suppression Tricks (As Sen. Louise Lucas’ granddaughter Natalie Lucas (Shorter) puts it, “Virginia is not ceding even a scintilla’s worth of ground…We will not go gentle.”)
- Video: Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi Explains Why It’s Crucial for “Saving Our Democracy” That Virginians Pass the Redistricting Amendment
- VA Speaker Don Scott and Sen. Louise Lucas — Stand Up for Democracy by Voting YES (“We are patriots. We believe in the Constitution and in representative government. But this moment requires action.”)
- Video: At “Veterans Vote YES” Press Conference, VA Speaker Don Scott Declares “This is Virginia, we don’t like kings”; Fmr. Gov. Ralph Northam Rips Trump’s “power grab…attack on our democracy” (Northam also calls out Youngkin and Republicans for “the greatest example of hypocrisy that I can even imagine”)
- Video: Del. Marcus Simon, Fmr. VA Redistricting Commission Member James Abrenio Say Victory for the “YES” Campaign on 4/21 Is NOT a Done Deal
- Video: VA Gov. Abigail Spanberger Hits the Airwaves Urging Virginians to Vote YES on Redistricting Amendment (“It’s directly in response to…a president who says he’s, quote, ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats before this year’s midterms.”)
- Video: “Our Democracy Is Worth Fighting For” — Virginia Veterans Urge YES Vote on April 21
- Millions of $$$ in MAGA Dark Money Fuel “NO” Campaign in Virginia (Includes “outright lying about Gov. Spanberger’s public approval of the YES Campaign”; “offensive and deceptive mailers sent to about Black voters”)
- A Walk Down Memory Lane on Virginia Redistricting – and Republicans’ Long History of Gerrymandering (For instance, remember when Virginia Republicans drew *72 seats* (!) in the House of Delegates that favored the Republican candidate?)
- Democratic Members of Virginia’s U.S. House Delegation “strongly condemn the deceptive and offensive mailers being sent to Black voters across Virginia by a MAGA-aligned group” (“Across the country, Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are pushing a national power grab”)
- VA Redistricting Amendment “YES” Campaign, VA NAACP, AG Jay Jones, etc. Denounce “MAGA-Linked” Group’s “Offensive” Mailers” Using “Racist Imagery” & “Invoking Jim Crow” (Republicans’ goal is to “[deter] Black voters from supporting this referendum”)
- Opponents of VA Redistricting Amendment Send Out Mailer/Text Falsely (and Offensively!) Claiming That Fighting Trump’s Assault on Our Democracy Is “Just Like Jim Crow”
- Charlottesville City Council Member Lloyd Snook Explains Why “I don’t like gerrymandering one bit, but I’m voting ‘yes’” on the Redistricting Amendment (As for Republicans, they’re basically arguing, “We’re bringing a knife to this fistfight, but you can’t.”)
- Video: Sen. Tim Kaine, Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-VA04), Del. Cia Price Explain Why Voting YES on the Redistricting Amendment Is Crucial “to put a stop to Trump’s power grab” (Virginians need to stand up “against Donald Trump’s tyranny”)
- “BREAKING: Virginia Supreme Court halts trial court order blocking preparations for congressional redistricting referendum” – Marc Elias (“The special election will move forward with early voting beginning on Mar. 6. A defeat for the GOP and victory for Virginia voters.”)
- Virginia AG Jay Jones Issues Opinion: “electoral boards and general registrars are required under Virginia law to provide for in-person absentee voting beginning 45 days prior to Election Day”
- Lynchburg Court Dismisses Latest GOP Attempt to Block April 21 Vote (“Republicans have tried again and again to stop Virginians from having their say — and again, that effort has failed.”)
- Gov. Abigail Spanberger Signs New Congressional Maps, Putting Final Approval to Virginia Voters
- NEW ADS: ‘Commission” and “General” — Underscore Trump’s Threats to Fair Elections
- VA Senate Dems Tweak VA02 to Make It Bluer (“Likely” or “Safe” Democratic); Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA02) Would Almost Certainly Lose in November with This Map
- NEW HuffPost Report: Trump Political Team Running Virginia’s ‘No’ Campaign
- BREAKING: “Big win” as VA Supreme Court Says Redistricting Referendum CAN Be Held on 4/21
- Bezos Post, Fox “News,” Right Wingers Freak Out, Attack Louise Lucas for Fighting Back Against Trump’s Attempts to Rig the Midterms
- 8 Winners and 8 Losers (and 8 Mixed) from the New Virginia Redistricting Map
- [UPDATED with Map] Report by Brandon Jarvis: VA “General Assembly Democrats have reached agreement on a 10-1 map”; “Sen. Lucas says the maps are competitive”
- Where Are the New Virginia [10D-1R] Redistricting Maps? Lots of (Juicy) Details Are Coming Out.
- Analysis by Three Lawyers (Two From Virginia) of Tazewell County Judge’s Redistricting Ruling: “a significant departure from established practice”; “outlier”; “probably gets reversed”
- BREAKING: Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge (Conservative Bob McDonnell Appointee) Rules Against Virginia Dems in Redistricting Case
- Analysis by Sam Shirazi on VA GOP’s Attempts to Kill the Redistricting Amendment in the Courts: If VA Supreme Court “rule[s] for the Republicans, that would be a pretty big shocker”
- Bill Introduced to Set VA Constitutional Amendment Referendum for April 21 to “temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections”
- Video: Virginia Senate Democrats Advance Constitutional Amendments to the Ballot, Allowing Virginians to Decide the Future of their Freedoms
- VIDEO: Virginians for Fair Elections — the “Yes” Campaign — Launches to Level the Playing Field for Virginia
- VA Senate President Pro Tem Louise Lucas Says She’s “sticking with [a 10D-1R map] today” and “anyone in the Congressional delegation who wants a seat needs to campaign for it and not expect a safe seat”
- Video: VA Speaker Don Scott Says “Republicans want [redistricting] to be decided by the courts too, and not by the voters, after that shellacking they took in November.”
- Video: Del. Marcus Simon Discusses in Detail the Thinking, Process, Republicans’ “completely bogus arguments” Against, etc. Regarding a New VA Redistricting Amendment in 2026
- Video: VA Senate Democrats Unanimously Vote to Pass Redistricting Amendment – “a break-glass maneuver for a truly unpredecented moment” as Trump Tries to “rig the entire national election”
- [UPDATE: Day #3] Virginia General Assembly Meets for Possible New Redistricting Amendment
- NY Times: “Virginia Democrats Plan to Redraw House Maps in Redistricting Push”
As for the early vote, according to VPAP, it hit 1,358,628 after voting on Saturday, which compares to 1,439,897 at the same point in November 2025. So in the end, voting in this election – on pretty much a random April day, without a presidential or gubernatorial candidate on the ballot – will be similar, maybe a bit lower, than in an election for governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and the entire House of Delegates. Amazing! Of course, a ton of money was spent on this election (over $50 million by Virginians for Fair Elections – the YES campaign – and about $18 million by Virginians for Fair Maps – the NO campaign).
Finally, here’s what the map will look like if the referendum wins today (and isn’t struck down by the courts, of course). Currently, Virginia is represented by 6 Democrats (VA03, VA04, VA07, VA08, VA10, VA11) and 5 Republicans (VA01, VA02, VA05, VA06, VA09). If the new map takes effect, it’s almost certain that Rob Wittman (R-VA01), Jen Kiggans (R-VA02), John McGuire (R-VA05) and Ben Cline (R-VA06) will be “toast” politically speaking, while Morgan Griffith (R-VA09) will actually be in an even stronger position, as his district will get even redder, believe it or not…
With that…what are you seeing and hearing out there? What’s turnout like in your neck of the woods? Who did you vote for and why? Feel free to add your observations in the comments section (I’ll be updating there throughout the day).
P.S. This is very helpful by DJSokeSpeaking
