1 of 3 | Voters are heading to the polls in Virginia on Tuesday to vote on a new congressional map drawn by Democratic state lawmakers. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Voters in Virginia narrowly approved a constitutional amendment in a special election Tuesday, clearing the way for a new congressional map expected to favor Democrats in November’s midterm elections.
With all localities reporting less than two hours after polls closed at 7 p.m. EDT, 51.33% of the nearly 3 million ballots cast supported the redistricting amendment, compared with 48.67% opposed, according to unofficial results from the Virginia Department of Elections.
Nearly 1 million people voted early, while more than 280,000 others cast mailed absentee ballots, according to the department.
Tuesday’s vote could have major implications for the November midterm elections by amending the state Constitution to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts.
Under the map drawn by Democratic lawmakers, Democrats would be favored to win 10 of the state’s 11 congressional districts. Democrats currently hold six of the state’s 11 congressional seats and Republicans hold five.
“Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they pushed back against a president who claims he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress,” Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger said in a social media statement late Tuesday.
“As we watched other states go along with those demands without voter input, Virginians refused to let that stand. We responded the right way: at the ballot box.”
Virginia is the latest state to redraw its congressional map mid-decade after Texas, encouraged by President Donald Trump, approved a map last year expected to favor Republicans. Four Republican-led states have approved new congressional maps.
Democrats and Republicans outside of the state have lent their voices to campaigns for and against Virginia’s redistricting plan. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., voiced their opposition to the plan, with Trump calling it “unfair.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has joined Virginia lawmakers Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine at rallies to support redistricting. Former President Barack Obama has also been involved, appearing in ad campaigns calling on voters to vote “yes.”
“Congratulations, Virginia!” Obama said following the vote on social media.
“Republicans are trying to tilt the midterm elections in their favor, but they haven’t done it yet. Thanks for showing us what it looks like to stand up for our democracy and fight back.”
Jeff Ryer, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said Republicans would continue fighting the measure in court.
“I know we are disappointed by tonight’s result. Evidently, a sufficient number of Virginians trusted the blatantly dishonest language the Democrats placed on the ballot to make our Commonwealth the most severely gerrymandered state in the nation,” he said in a statement.
A major Republican argument in the litigation centers on the ballot language, which asks voters whether the state Constitution should be amended to allow the temporary adoption of new congressional districts “to restore fairness in the upcoming elections.”
Ryer said with the referendum behind them, their fight continues.
“Now, we enter the phase that will be decided through litigation,” he said.
“We don’t know whether the Supreme Court of Virginia will rule that the General Assembly is not above the law and does not have license to violate the Constitution. For the sake of Virginia, we will hope and pray that they do.”
The redistricting arms race was fueled by Trump’s push for Republican-led states to secure more GOP-friendly House seats ahead of the midterms, prompting Democrats to pursue countermoves in states they control. Trump has warned Republicans that losing the House in November could lead to his impeachment.
The Virginia Supreme Court allowed Tuesday’s election to move forward but may still weigh in on whether the new congressional map is legal.
This week in Washington
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing on the budget for the Department of Health and Human Services in the Rayburn House Office Building near the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
