Redistricting referendum continues in Virginia

GATE CITY – If Scott County is an indicator, early voting on a referendum on off-year Congressional redistricting in Virginia is brisk.Scott County general Registrar Mike Edwards said Tuesday afternoon results showed approximately 8% of the county's voters have cast in-person early ballots on the question: "Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia's standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?"As of 2:49 p.m. Tuesday, 1,376 voters had stopped by the registrar's office to cast their ballots, Edwards said, and 400 voters had requested mail-in ballots.In-person Election Day of the referendum is April 21.While the state Department of Elections had suspended official help on conducting the election at the start of early voting due to two pending lawsuits against the referendum, Edwards said the department has resumed informational support to registrars across the state.Red-and-white billboards sponsored by group Friends of Dr. Todd Pillion have shown up in several Southwest Virginia counties and towns in recent weeks with the legend: "VOTE NO – NORTHERN VIRGINIA POWER GRAB." The billboards have been visible in Wise, Scott, Russell and Washington counties and the city of Norton.Barack Obama has featured on mailers sent to many Southwest Virginia residents as he called for people to vote yes on the referendum.The Virginia referendum stemmed from the Trump administration's call last year for Republican-controlled states to redistrict their Congressional districts to favor Republican candidates in the November Congressional House midterm elections to prevent attempts to impeach the president.California and Virginia are among states that reacted to Texas's pro-Republican redistricting to gain seats in Congress in 2027.UVA Wise political science professor Heather Evans said Tuesday that current and even former students have been asking her what redistricting means for Virginia. Even as early voting seems strong in the region, she said no one will know the results until the night of April 21."Students say, 'All I know from your class is that gerrymandering is bad,'" and I say yeah," said Evans. "I don't even know what to say to them. All this is political maneuvering, and it's frustrating."Evans called the pro-redistricting effort "a bitter pill to swallow" for Virginians who have called traditionally for redistricting to be taken out of legislative hands and be done by an independent commission."While both parties do some of this across the United States," said Evans, "it tends to be the Democratic Party or people who identify as Democrats who argues for no gerrymandering. It's difficult to get people on board with the idea you should vote for this now. It's gerrymandering, and it's a tough sell."