RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger cast her ballot in Richmond Friday morning in the state's redistricting referendum, joining hundreds of thousands of residents who have already voted early.
The referendum asks voters whether to allow a mid-decade redrawing of Virginia's 11 congressional districts.
"I voted yes today, and I would encourage other Virginians to do the same," said Spanberger, who voted at the Richmond registrar's office with her husband and one of her daughters.
In 2020, voters approved a bipartisan redistricting commission that led to the current map, which favors Democrats 6-5.
The Democrat-controlled General Assembly is now asking for the ability to implement a map favoring their party 10-1 for the next few elections and the map drawing powers will return to the commission after the 2030 census.
Spanberger said she supports the commission and opposes gerrymandering but is voting yes in response to President Donald Trump telling Republican-controlled states to redraw their districts to help his party maintain control of the House in this year's midterms.
"This amendment is temporary. Is temporary and responsive to this moment in time where we have a president who has gone to other states seeking additional congressional seats, saying he's, quote, entitled to them," Spanberger said.
Republican Congressman Rob Wittman, who represents Virginia's First District, said Spanberger is changing her stance on redistricting and that the proposed maps take away the voices of rural Virginia.
"A super majority in Virginia said yes to bipartisan redistricting and no to gerrymandering. So, I would just say, very simply, listen to the voters," Wittman said.
"I don't think it's best for Virginia. If you look at how these districts are drawn, it concentrates all the power into Northern Virginia. Is that really in the best interest of the Commonwealth," Wittman said.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, over 310,000 Virginians voted early in the referendum as of Thursday. This compares to 148,000 at the same point in the 2022 midterms.
Breaking down the votes by congressional district, VPAP shows four of the five current Republican districts have seen the most votes cast, with Wittman's district at the top (37,683 votes had been cast in the First District as of Thursday morning, the fewest number of votes were in the Third District with 13,906).
"I've talked to folks across the first district across the Commonwealth, they do not like when governing officials politicians say we want to pick our voters. They say, 'No. No, that's not how it works.'," Wittman said.
Spanberger said she is not reading too much into the early vote totals and expects many more people to head to the polls.
"So my message to voters is, please make sure that you read up on this, make a decision and cast your ballot. Make your make your vote count," Spanberger said.
Early voting runs until April 18, and Election Day is Tuesday, April 21.
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