RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia voters head to the polls Tuesday for a special election to decide whether to adopt a new congressional map that could give Democrats a 10 to 1 advantage in the upcoming midterm elections.
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters who are in line when the polls close will be allowed to cast their ballots.
The current congressional map favors Democrats 6 to 5, while the proposed map favors them 10 to 1.
According to the Virginia Public Access Project, nearly 1.4 million people cast ballots in early voting, which ended Saturday.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger and Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Don Scott say the measure is a needed response to Republican-led states redrawing their maps in their favor after being asked to do so by President Donald Trump.
"Virginia has a really unique opportunity, a really unique opportunity to be responsive in a temporary fashion," Spanberger said. "He said that he's entitled to more seats, and went to Texas and went to North Carolina, went to Missouri to make that case."
Scott said, "This is the way to stop the Trump MAGA power grab. It's a very temporary measure. After it's done, we'll go back to our current bipartisan redistricting."
Meanwhile, former Gov. Glenn Youngkin, former Attorney General Jason Miyares, and Rep. Rob Wittman argue the map disenfranchises rural Virginians by tying them with districts in Northern Virginia.
"It's unconstitutional, it's illegal, and it is immoral," Youngkin said. "A yes vote means the most gerrymandered, the biggest political grab, the most brazenly dishonest effort that we've ever seen."
Miyares said, "Why in the world do we decide we want to take the cues of New York or California or even Texas when we already have a fair map, the fairest map in the country?"
Republicans say the redraw ignores the will of the Virginians who approved a bipartisan redistricting commission that created the current maps.
"Virginia spoke loudly in 2020. It's just a matter now, reiterating those voices again now, to make sure that this doesn't happen, to make sure that they are disenfranchised," Wittman said.
Democrats note the new maps are only temporary, and the commission would resume its work after the 2030 census. Spanberger previously supported the bipartisan commission.
"My support for that amendment has not changed. What has changed is the entirety of the landscape around us," Spanberger said.
Both sides spent the final hours of the campaign driving home their messages to their bases.
"It's the time for Virginia to come out and vote yes tomorrow," Scott said.
"Stand up and speak loudly, and the word we all need to echo is 'no!'" Youngkin said.
"How are we going to vote tomorrow? No," Miyares said.
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What to expect in Virginia's special election on redistricting
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