Why Virginians should vote "No" on gerrymandering
Update 5/8/26: The Virginian Supreme Court ruled that the entire process used by the Democrats in Virginia was illegal and unconstitutional.1
“Wait for it.”
That phrase is useful for wise discernment. “Wait for it” encourages delayed gratification. “Wait for it” guides us to take a deep breath and think more deeply. “Wait for it” has also become snarky vernacular to indicate a funny moment at the end of a video, or a punchline at the end of a joke.
“Wait for it.”
The childhood activity sheet of “connect the dots” was a fun way to help non-artists draw an intricate image. It involved carefully drawing a line from the dot labelled “1” to the dot labelled “2” and so on. The result was the tracing of a pre-arranged, designed image. Then you could color in the line drawing to embellish your masterpiece.
Next week, Virginians will vote on a Democrat-led effort to redistrict the state. The result, they unashamedly admit, will give the Democrats overwhelming representation in the state politically. They argue this is temporarily necessary to counterbalance what the Texas voters legislature did which resulted in more Republican representation (which Texas voters did in response to California’s gerrymandering).2
Bryan Cannon wrote The answer to authoritarianism isn’t gerrymandering3 in our regional Cardinal News. I urge you to read his article as he offers two reasons - one moral and one practical - to vote against gerrymandering in Virginia. Cannon knows what he’s talking about. He is “a democracy reform advocate who helped lead Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting reform effort from 2015 to 2021 and works on election reform initiatives nationally.”
This week, we received yet another mailer. We get at least two a day recently - one urging a “yes” vote and one urging a “no” vote. This mailer, though, was the “connect the dots” moment for me. In one mailer, the Left revealed why are they so audaciously attempting to reverse what 2/3 of Virginia voters set in place back in 2020.
“In 2020, Virginians amended the state constitution to prohibit gerrymandering because they believed politicians should not choose their voters. That reform overwhelmingly passed across all ideological lines, because voters understood that cheating to win corrodes democratic legitimacy.” (emphasis mine)4
So why are the Democrats really wanting to pursue this effort?
Wait for it.
Here was the mailer, front and back:5
Connect the dots.
Update 4/20/26: I received a helpful reprimand in comments from Todd Fearer (see below) and have changed the following paragraph and added the one after it for clarity and accuracy. You can see the original in the footnote.6
Abortion. That is their ultimate target. If they can stack Virginia votes with Democrats, they will be able to influence the national abortion conversation and help pass (or block) national abortion legislation. There is already a Democrat-led abortion amendment that is up for vote this fall in Virginia to pass a constitutional amendment in VA to enshrine abortion.
I believe they want to change the national abortion laws as a result of SCOTUS overturning Roe. Stronger Democratic dominance in federal races can influence state elections and shape messaging and turnout. That’s why they say this gerrymandering will only be “temporary, emergency measure.” In other words, give us power to enshrine abortion at a national level and to use our influence to convince voters to do so in Virginia this fall, and we’ll gladly give up power after the 2030 census. Yeah, right.
The Democrats strategy? Two-prong:
Fear. They will take your rights away. Trump will gain more power. (When either party has no logical arguments and is low on logic, they resort to fear. Fear is an excellent motivator.)
Blame Trump. (The Left’s obsessive hatred for Donald Trump is almost comical if it weren’t so dangerous.)
That’s all they’ve got - fear and… Trump. They aren’t thinking of “fair.” Everyone knows this is unfair for Virginians. They’re not denying that. They claim it is necessary. For their agenda. To legalize the killing of innocents.
Connect the dots.
Sane political observers will admit that the Democrats have other agendas that are disagreeable and disturbing as well. It stands to reason that if given greater power in Virginia, they will have unfettered ability to silence dissent if this effort should pass.
Democrats already have an advantage in our state. They control six districts while Republicans control five.
I voted “NO”
I voted “no” today, and I was deeply disturbed to discover that the ballot read as follows:
“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?”
Here’s a great quote:
“Gerrymandering is detrimental to our democracy and it weakens the individual voices that form our electorates. Opposing gerrymandering should be a bipartisan priority.”7
Who said it? Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, in response to a 2019 redistricting effort was halted by the Supreme Court. When her party has the reins, it’s apparently ok. That’s fair, right?
“The group promoting this amendment calls itself “Virginians for Fair Elections.” But the defense of these maps is not that they are neutral or balanced. The defense is that they are strategically necessary.
That is not a fairness argument. It is a power argument. They’re trying to manipulate us.” - Brian Cannon
Virginia Supreme Court tosses Dem-backed redistricting map, upending expected 10–1 edge, by Breanne Deppisch , Paul Steinhauser (Fox News: May 8, 2026)
Update 4/20/26: I have been corrected on the timeline of this in the comments by Todd Fearer. Please see those. Thank you, Todd.
The answer to authoritarianism isn’t gerrymandering, by Brian Cannon (Cardinal News: April 2026)
Ibid.
It was sent by Virginians For Fair Elections. Their website has the Democrat governor promoting the “yes” vote. The name of their organization is ridiculous. Fair, indeed. 🤪
Original Comments:
That is their ultimate target. If they can stack Virginia votes with Democrats, they can pass a constitutional amendment in VA to enshrine abortion. That’s why they say this gerrymandering will only be “temporary, emergency measure.” In other words, give us power to enshrine abortion, and we’ll gladly give up power after the 2030 census. Yeah, right.
Spanberger once blasted gerrymandering and now backs amendment critics say could erase Virginia GOP, by Charles Creitz (Fox News: March 6, 2026)
Jeff,
This post is in response to your blog. It contains several errors that are important to correct.
First, you state that Virginia’s vote is “to counterbalance what Texas voters did which resulted in more Republican representation (which Texas voters did in response to California’s gerrymandering)”. Two important elements of this statement are false: (1) implying the gerrymandering efforts originated with California and (2) that Texas voters actually were involved.
In July 2025, President Trump requested Texas revisit its congressional map to add additional Republican districts ahead of the 2026 elections (source: AP News). This is important and needs to be restated – the gerrymandering was started by Trump at his request in an effort to prevent the U.S. House of Representatives from flipping during the midterm elections so he and the GOP could maintain control.
In response to that request, on August 20, 2025, the Texas House approved House Bill 4 containing a new congressional map by an 88-52 vote along party lines. On August 23, 2025, the Texas Senate approved the map by an 18-11 vote along party lines. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the new map into law on August 29, 2025. The bill text stated the new district boundaries would take effect for the 2026 elections. Missouri and North Carolina followed Texas, with the state legislatures approving new maps adding additional republican seats (MO adopted on Sept. 28, 2025; NC on Oct. 22, 2025; source: Ballotopedia). In all of those cases, there were no special elections to give the citizens a say in whether the gerrymandering should proceed – they were passed solely within their state legislatures (source: Ballotopedia). Again for emphasis: Trump unfairly requested that power. Disenfranchising voters – voters in those states were never given a say.
On August 21, 2025, the California Legislature passed a redistricting plan setting a special election for a constitutional amendment to redraw the state's congressional district boundaries, which was passed in a November 4th special election to permit the adoption of a replacement map through 2030. VOTERS approved the proposition by a 65%-35% vote on November 4, 2025 (source: Ballotopedia).
You then go on to state that abortion rights are Virginia’s real goal in this effort: “That is their ultimate target. If they can stack Virginia votes with Democrats, they can pass a constitutional amendment in VA to enshrine abortion.” This is also false – the two are completely disconnected. The gerrymandering effort is to change Virginia’s U.S. House of Representative Districts – they will impact only federal congressional policy and Virginia’s representation regarding those policies. The amendment to Virginia’s constitution regarding abortion rights will be a ballot measure in the November 2026 elections, allowing Virginians to vote and decide on that issue. This will happen regardless of what happens with the gerrymandering decision.
These points matter because of the context and assertions present in your blog post – the unfairness of the effort, the disenfranchisement of voters, the fear mongering. From your blog:
“When either party has no logical arguments and is low on logic, they resort to fear. Fear is an excellent motivator.”
“Blame Trump. The Left’s obsessive hatred for Donald Trump is almost comical if it weren’t so dangerous.”
“That’s all they’ve got – fear…Everyone knows this is unfair for Virginians.”
“Fear. They will take your rights away. “
You are entitled to your opinions, and you are free to express those opinions – this is not about the policies. This is about how you discussed those policies – the pretext of fairness and truth, of uncovering lies and dishonesty. If those are to be the precepts of this argument, then the defense of fairness, honesty, accuracy, transparency, truth, should dictate the tenets of any response. This should especially be the case for a pastor. When your goal is to sway the views of others and you make statements as truth and fact that are misleading at best and patently false at worse, whether intentionally or mistakenly, you are lying. You are fear mongering. You are being unfair. You are calling into question your credibility.
So, to be clear: Trump STARTED this gerrymandering in an effort to unfairly prevent the U.S. House of Representatives from flipping during the midterm elections out of fear of losing GOP control. Texas, Missouri, and North Carolina voters were given no say in their states’ gerrymandering efforts. And Virginia VOTERS will decide in November, no matter what happens tomorrow, about a constitutional amendment on abortion.
wow this is frightening, who knows how long until something like this comes up in Minnesota.? Thanks for the warning and the heads up Jeff, something to be watchful for.