The Awful Virginia Redistricting Referendum

Yesterday, Virginians voted by a narrow margin to allow the state to deviate from its normal redistricting rules. The plan is to redistrict state congressional districts to move the state from 6-5 Democrat/Republican to 10-1.

It’s a crude partisan move, in response to similarly crude partisan moves by Republican states. That’s not why I call the referendum awful.

Rather, it’s because the referendum was written in such a way as to entirely obscure the purpose of the vote. Moreover, instead of using neutral language, the referendum stated that its purpose is to “restore fairness in the upcoming elections.” Obviously, whether a grossly partisan gerrymander restores fairness or just adds additional unfairness is a matter of debate.

Here’s the question presented to voters:

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?

I don’t know anything about the relevant Virginia law on referenda, nor any federal rules that might come into play. But I assume that Republican lawyers are preparing a legal challenge if one is potentially viable.