No Way to Win

 

Freedom suffered another serious blow last Tuesday. More than 3 million Virginians turned out in a redistricting special election designed to flip the representation of the 11 U.S. Congressional districts from the current 6 Democrats and 5 Republicans to 10 Democrats and 1 Republican. The vote count was 51.4% yes and 48.6% no.

 

The question on the ballot was:

“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?”.

 

It is noteworthy that in 2020 Virginians voted to implement an “independent, bipartisan commission” to handle the task of redistricting after each 10-year census. The voters wanted an apolitical redistricting process. Tuesday’s ballot measure, which the Governor and proponents described as a necessary response to the other mid-decade redistricting going on in states around the country, is intended to be temporary and was promoted as the way to “restore fairness.”

 

Virginia elections historically are not landslides. In 2024, Kamala Harris received 51.8% of the vote and Donald Trump received 46%. The 6 (55%) Democratic Congressmen and 5 (45%) Republican Congressmen representing Virginia’s districts prior to Tuesday’s vote are consistent with how Virginians vote. The goal of flipping the representation to 10 Democrats and 1 Republican will severely suppress the will of a large swath of Virginia’s voters.

 

Massive amounts of money were spent in advertising in this special election – more than $56 million promoting a yes vote and more than $24 million promoting a no vote. The money came from political interests from all across the country.

 

The result of this election will now proceed to litigation. There are 3 major cases currently before the Virginia Supreme Court. One alleges the process used to place the question on the ballot was illegal. Two others charge that the wording of the ballot question was misleading. Though lower courts ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in these lawsuits, the Virginia Supreme Court allowed the vote to go forward. When the referendum passed, a lower court judge immediately halted implementation of the new maps. The Supreme Court is expected to hear the case on Monday. Those who oppose the change are vowing to take the fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

 

Abigail Spanberger was elected Virginia’s Governor in November 2025. While campaigning she assured voters that she had “no plans” to redraw the state’s congressional maps. After her election she became an avid supporter of the plan to redistrict, reinforcing what we already know. Playing word games is just one of many ways politicians deceive.

 

The Constitution and Redistricting

 

The Constitution of the United States requires representation in the House of Representatives to be based on state population size. There must be at least one representative from each state. The number of representatives is capped at 435 and each representative currently represents about 760,000 – 780,000 people. The method each state uses for “apportionment” (dividing the seats in Congress) is not prescribed by the Constitution, leaving each state to determine its process for redistricting, typically every 10 years, after the nationwide census is conducted.

 

The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868, requires counting of “the whole number of persons” in each state for representation and taxation. This was to rectify the fact that, prior to this Amendment, enslaved people were counted as 3/5 of a person. The Amendment since that time has been taken to mean all residents. The Founders could not have envisioned the millions of noncitizens who are living illegally in the United States today. Those who are here illegally are counted in the census and provide a mechanism to increase a state’s representation in Congress. This not only creates an incentive for sanctuary states, but also creates a contradiction: noncitizens are ineligible to vote but are used to influence the states’ allocation of representatives in the House. The inclusion of illegal residents in the census for the purpose of Congressional representation, though not a part of the redistricting debate currently in process, should be changed.

 

Virginia did not Start the Gerrymandering War and its Special Election Won’t End it

 

Gerrymandering, manipulating electoral district boundaries to give one political party an unfair advantage over the other, is not new. It was first used in 1812 in Massachusetts. In most states, the legislatures have the responsibility of drawing the electoral maps and both political parties use gerrymandering to create maps that favor the party in control.

 

In 2025, mid-decade redistricting for the purpose of gerrymandering districts for advantage in the 2026 midterm elections emerged as a political tactic. Prior to that time, mid-decade redistricting had been rare. It started in Texas, at the urging of President Trump, with the goal of flipping 3 – 5 seats from Democratic to Republican. In 2024 Trump won Texas by more than 1.5 million votes, the largest margin of victory in 20 years. Texas currently has 38 members in the House of Representatives – 25 are Republicans and 13 are Democrats. Arguments were made against and for redistricting: it is a partisan power grab versus it is aligning representation with the increasing conservative leanings of the state.

 

The redrawn Texas maps were challenged, and the Supreme Court of the United States allowed them to stand for the 2026 election.

 

The Texas mid-decade redistricting started a cascade of redistricting activity in multiple states, Republican and Democratic, focused on competitive seats and altering the partisan balance. Millions of dollars have been spent, and many lies have been told. California, North Carolina, Missouri, Ohio, and Utah have completed redistricting.  Virginia, New York, South Carolina and Florida have redistricting underway. Indiana, Maryland and Washington considered redistricting but did not pass it.

 

The U.S Supreme Court Ruling on the Voting Rights Act (VRA)

 

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on a case involving the Voting Rights Act in late June or early July that may provide further incentive to states to redistrict. The issue centers on limiting the use of race in redistricting decisions. Observers of the arguments in the case predict the conservative Court majority will restrict the VRA by putting an end to the use of race conscious redistricting.

 

Wisconsin Voters Beware

 

There are two current lawsuits in the judicial system alleging that Wisconsin’s 8 Congressional Districts are an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. The petitioners wanted the Wisconsin Supreme Court to bypass the lower courts and take the cases directly. Instead, the Supreme Court sent them to two separate 3-judge panels. On March 31, one panel dismissed the lawsuit saying it did not have the authority to strike down the current maps because they had been determined by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to be lawful. This decision can be appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court but not likely in time for the midterms. The second suit is not scheduled to be heard until 2027. Wisconsin voters beware. The state Supreme Court now has a 5 – 2 liberal majority and has already provided ample evidence it will not hesitate to legislate from the bench.

 

 

No Way to Win

 

Imagine what could be accomplished in this country if we had honest people trying to win the votes of constituents by responding to their priorities and producing real outcomes with real benefits for the American people.

 

Imagine what good could be done with the millions of dollars spent trying to rig the system and destroy opponents.

 

Our freedom is threatened by the shift away from a government of the people, by the people, and for the people to a government corrupted by money, power, and dishonesty. If we truly aspire to the great exceptionalism we claim is the essence of America, we must be worthy of it. If you know the difference between right and wrong, you know this is no way to win.