This year, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) will introduce 135 new acres of pollinator habitats as part of its ongoing initiative to safeguard ecosystems that support vital pollinators like bees, birds, butterflies, bats, beetles, and flies.

Since its inception in 2014, VDOT’s Pollinator Habitat Program has been developing areas of native plants along state roads and properties to provide crucial habitats for threatened and declining pollinator species. The program began with four plots in Northern Virginia and has grown significantly.

Five-Year Milestone for Monarch Butterfly Conservation

This year also marks five years since VDOT joined the Monarch Butterfly Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances. This is a voluntary agreement among energy and transportation partners and the University of Illinois-Chicago, aiming to support the monarch butterfly. Initially, VDOT aimed to create pollinator habitats on approximately 3,100 acres of roadside. Five years later, they have far exceeded this goal, establishing around 8,000 acres of pollinator-friendly habitats. VDOT monitors these areas each spring to track the presence of milkweed and nectar-producing flowers, which are essential for the butterflies’ survival.

“Supporting pollinator conservation is a win-win for VDOT because the agency can save money and improve efficiencies, and pollinators gain thousands of acres of habitat,” said Chris Swanson, director of VDOT’s Environmental Division. “We value being good stewards of the environment, which is why, throughout the Commonwealth, we’re working to provide safe habitats for pollinators to ensure a healthy and sustainable future.”

New Pollinator Habitats Across Virginia

This year, VDOT plans to add 107 acres of pollinator habitats in Hampton Roads, 22 acres in the Greater Richmond region, and about six acres in Southern Virginia. Last year, VDOT successfully planted 82 new acres across the state.

Pollinator corridors are crucial in helping VDOT deliver a safe and efficient transportation system. Roadside vegetation helps reduce erosion and stormwater runoff and provides sediment control. By planting more flowers and vegetation, VDOT beautifies the roadsides and reduces maintenance costs by minimizing the frequency of mowing. Additionally, these vegetated areas are more resistant to invasive plants, reducing herbicide need.

Recognizing Virginia Pollinator Week

Governor Glenn Youngkin has declared June 17-23 as Virginia Pollinator Week to highlight pollinators’ vital role in the state’s environment and agricultural economy. This week is an opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of protecting these essential creatures.

Funding Through Special License Plates

VDOT has partnered with the Department of Motor Vehicles to support the Pollinator Habitat Program by offering Wildflower and Protect Pollinators license plates. Proceeds from these plates help fund the creation and maintenance of pollinator habitats.

Looking Ahead

VDOT’s commitment to creating and maintaining pollinator habitats demonstrates the agency’s dedication to environmental stewardship and sustainability. By expanding these habitats, VDOT contributes to a healthier ecosystem and ensures a bright future for pollinators and the environment.

In Virginia’s congressional primaries Tuesday, Republicans will be picking a nominee to run against U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, while Democrats will be picking would-be successors for two Northern Virginia congresswomen who aren’t running for reelection.

Recent polls have pointed to a close presidential race in Virginia between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Those early polls indicate there could be several hard-fought congressional contests further down the ballot, particularly in three suburban districts — the 2nd, the 7th and the 10th — that Democrats and Republicans battled over in 2022.

This week’s primaries will set the table for those races and settle a hard-right grudge match between warring MAGA factions in central Virginia’s Republican-leaning 5th District.

Here’s what to watch on primary night:

A referendum on Rep. Bob Good

Incumbent Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., is facing primary challenger Sen. John McGuire, R-Goochland, in a contest that’s been attracting national attention. In a safe Republican district, the winner of this week’s GOP primary will be a strong favorite to win the seat in the fall.

Good is a two-term congressman first elected in 2020. He spent nearly 20 years working in finance before becoming an associate director in Liberty University’s athletics department. He also served as a member of Campbell County’s board of supervisors and led efforts to declare it a “Second Amendment Sanctuary” in 2019.

McGuire, who declared his candidacy against Good days after being elected to the state senate, has previously run for the 7th Congressional District and spent three terms in Virginia’s House of Delegates. He’s a former Navy SEAL and owns a physical training business. 

Both men have traveled around the 5th district — which sprawls from Albemarle County westward towards Richmond and down to Danville near the North Carolina border — connecting with voters. Sometimes they’ve been flanked by high-profile Republicans in the national spotlight.

Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene joined McGuire at a few events in the district and posted videos of her support for him on social media. Former President Donald Trump has also endorsed McGuire.

Meanwhile, Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, headlined an event for Good recently. Texas congressman Chip Roy and Florida congressman Matt Gaetz have also joined Good on the campaign trail.

While each candidate shares similar stances on several conservative Republican issues, it’s Trump’s backing that is a litmus test in the race.

Though Good has been a longtime cheerleader of the once-and-possibly-future president, his brief endorsement of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last summer before he dropped out of the race has haunted him.

Trump’s campaign has since endorsed McGuire and sent a cease and desist letter to Good’s campaign for signs that include Trump’s name that imply an endorsement he doesn’t have.

McGuire, meanwhile, attended January’s Iowa caucuses to support Trump — and missed some presentations and votes during this year’s General Assembly session to do so.

While Good and his allies assert McGuire doesn’t have what it takes to serve on the House Freedom Caucus — Congress’ most conservative group that Good chairs — McGuire and his allies call Good a “liar” who is a “Republican In Name Only.”

A scramble to replace two departing Northern Virginia congresswomen

After being diagnosed with a severe and incurable brain disorder, incumbent U.S. Rep Jennifer Wexton announced she wouldn’t run again for the 10th District seat she first won in 2018.

With her eyes on Virginia’s 2025 race for governor, U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger also isn’t running for another term in the neighboring 7th District.

That left two competitive Northern Virginia districts without incumbents and set off a surge of candidates hoping to succeed Wexton and Spanberger.

In the 10th District — based mostly in Loudoun, Prince William and Fauquier counties — the biggest names in a field of a dozen Democratic primary contenders are Sen. Suhas Subramanyam, Del. Dan Helmer, Sen. Jennifer Boysko and former House of Delegates Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn.

Wexton, who defeated a well-funded Republican challenger by more than six percentage points in 2022, has endorsed Subramanyam for the seat.

Also in the Democratic mix are Del. David Reid, Del. Michelle Maldonado and former Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni, who served under former Gov. Ralph Northam.

The winner of the 10th District Democratic primary will face whomever emerges victorious from a four-person Republican primary happening Tuesday.

The GOP field in the 10th includes attorney and technology executive Mike Clancy, Marine Corps veteran and former Youngkin administration official Aliscia Andrews, retired military officer Alex Isaac and defense contractor Manga Anantatmula.

In the 7th District, seven Democrats and six Republicans are competing for the chance to replace Spanberger, who’s currently the only candidate from either party actively running a 2025 gubernatorial campaign.

The top Republican contenders in the 7th are Derrick Anderson, a former Green Beret turned lawyer who worked in the Office of National Drug Control Policy during the Trump administration, and Cameron Hamilton, a former Navy SEAL who more recently worked at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Despite their remarkably similar profiles, Anderson and Hamilton have traded blows over who gives the GOP the best chance to flip a seat that’s winnable for the party under the right conditions.

Democrats in the district are facing a choice between experience in state and local politics and national star power.

Eugene Vindman — a career military officer who rose to fame during the Trump era when he and his twin brother, Alex Vindman, raised alarms about a phone call Trump made to Ukrainian officials — has raised more than $5 million to run in the district as a Democrat. His fundraising has dwarfed the other six Democratic candidates he’s competing against, many of whom have longer backgrounds in Virginia politics.

Competing against Vindman are Dels. Elizabeth Guzman and Briana Sewell, as well as Prince William county supervisors Margaret Angela Franklin and Andrea Bailey.

The 7th District, based largely in Prince William, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties, covers a big enough swath of rural central Virginia that it’s seen as more competitive for the GOP than the 10th. In 2022, Spanberger defeated Prince William supervisor Yesli Vega by 4.6 percentage points.

GOP picks a statewide challenger for Kaine

Kaine has a long history in electoral politics, serving in local, state and federal office before being tapped as Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential running mate in 2016. Facing challengers is nothing new for Kaine, but running for office is new to some of his five would-be challengers competing in the Republican U.S. Senate primary.

While they overlap on various policy stances, it’s the resume and personal flair of the GOP candidates that make each stand out for different reasons.

After challenging Wexton in 2022 and coming up short, Navy veteran Hung Cao appears to be a top contender in the GOP’s crowded U.S. Senate primary after winning Trump’s endorsement. Cao’s political action committee, Unleash America, has come under scrutiny for not supporting other Republican candidates as he’d initially announced the PAC was created to do.

Former Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis staffer Scott Parkinson also has a fundraising background as a senior official at the Club For Growth political action committee. Additionally, he’s worked for various representatives on Capitol Hill.

Lawyer and Navy veteran Chuck Smith has mounted unsuccessful campaigns to include Virginia Beach city council and a run for attorney general. He also spent time as the local chair of Virginia Beach’s Republican Party chapter.

Lawyer Jonathan Emord represented Alex Jones when the conspiratorial radio host was ordered to stop selling products that claimed to cure COVID-19. Previously, he worked for the Federal Communications Commission during President Ronald Reagan’s term.

Eddie Garcia touts his background as the “son of a ranch hand” in Texas who went on to serve in the Army for over 20 years and be a congressional liaison for the Army.

The candidates share a desire to “retire” Kaine from office and overlap on many policy stances — such as being fiscally conservative and supporting tighter security at the U.S – Mexico border. They dislike abortion and some refer to themselves as “pro-life,” but several have said they won’t implement a national ban on the procedure.

The Cook Political Report ranks Kaine’s senate seat as a “Solid D” — meaning he would likely be able to fend off whoever emerges from the primary when they face him in November. But given the polls showing a close presidential race in Virginia, a stronger showing of Trump voters in November could translate to higher support for whomever Republicans pick to run against Kaine.

Democratic leaders look to lock in pick against Kiggans

As she prepares to defend the Hampton Roads-based 2nd District for the first time, Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Virginia Beach, is considered a top target for Democrats who want to flip back a seat they lost in 2022.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is backing Missy Cotter Smasal, a Navy veteran who now serves as the executive director of a veteran-focused nonprofit. The DCCC named  Smasal to its “Red to Blue” program, which focuses resources on districts where Democrats have the greatest chance to knock off a Republican incumbent.

Smasal is facing competition in a Democratic primary from Jake Denton, an attorney who focuses on civil rights and constitutional law.

Denton trails in fundraising, and  Smasal has notched big endorsements from U.S. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, all six of Virginia’s Democratic representatives in the U.S. House and former Govs. Ralph Northam and Terry McAuliffe.

Kiggans, a former state senator and Navy veteran herself, defeated former congresswoman Elaine Luria two years ago by 3.4 percentage points. The district has alternated between Democratic and Republican representatives over the years.

A Democratic primary with a Unite the Right angle

In the 1st District, two Democrats competing in a primary have been sparring over the violent Unite the Right rally that took place in Charlottesville during the summer of 2017.

Attorney Leslie Mehta — seen as the frontrunner to win the Democratic nomination against GOP Rep. Rob Wittman — worked for the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia when the organization lent legal representation to Unite the Right organizers as they battled Charlottesville officials over the terms of a rally permit.

A federal judge sided with the ACLU, ruling that the city didn’t have a legal basis to move the rally to a more distant location and allowed the rally to proceed in a park in the heart of the city.

Mehta, endorsed in the primary by Spanberger and other prominent elected Democrats, says she and the ACLU stood up for the principle that people should be free to peacefully express unpopular political beliefs without government interference.

Her primary opponent, former New Kent County treasurer Herb Jones, has argued she and the ACLU should have been more clear-eyed about threats of violence that day and has warned Democrats against nominating someone with a connection to the infamous event.

The district represented by Wittman leans Republican and runs from the Richmond suburbs to the Northern Neck, Middle Peninsula and outskirts of Hampton Roads.

by Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.

A handful of Virginia school boards are exiting the Virginia School Board Association, the longest-running organization dedicated to supporting school boards in the commonwealth, over claims that it has failed to meet their needs and doesn’t align with their conservative values.

Gina Patterson, executive director of VSBA, established in 1906, said she would not comment on the claims made by the few boards but instead responded that the association’s decisions are based on the school boards’ priorities, not staff’s.

“What we do is based on the decisions of the majority of our members, based on legislative positions and how they want us to lobby for or against something at the General Assembly,” Patterson told the Mercury.

VSBA offers school boards networking opportunities, professional development sessions, optional add-on policy and legal services, governance training, and can assist with superintendent searches.

Conservative and some newly elected board members, including those from Warren and Orange counties, said the organization wasn’t incorporating their legislative priorities and providing training that mirrors their principles.

Before they were elected, some of those school boards’ members campaigned on certain parents’ frustration with how school boards operated by allowing “divisive concepts” in schools, endangering students, adopting controversial policies around transgender students and books, and renaming schools and mascots connected to the racist ideals of the Confederacy. Gov. Glenn Youngkin focused his campaign on many of the same issues.

Tiffany Van Der Hyde, executive director of We The People, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization tracking shifts in school board memberships, said Gov. Youngkin rallying with parents over education issues in 2021 contributed to some Virginia school boards’ political polarization and the exodus of many of their members.

Youngkin’s election “empowered a lot of far-right candidates to seek office in this space, and we saw a lot of really great conservative, local school board members across the state decide not to run again,” Hyde said.“ They just didn’t want to be a part of it and when they left, the more extreme candidates filled those gaps.”

Boards exit from VSBA

Some school board members claimed that VSBA, which the boards pay through agreements, has failed to prove its value to their communities.

Warren County Board Member Ralph Rinaldi said during a Sept. 6 vote to leave the VSBA that he believed the school staff and board could govern themselves and implement policies relating to issues like school discipline without the association.

“They do provide some services that are worthwhile, but I look at the return for what we’re putting in and what we’re getting, then I look at our geographic location, and there are other counties here in the [Shenandoah Valley] that sort of get snubbed by them,” McFadden said.

The Warren County School Board became one of the earliest to decline to renew its membership with VSBA, followed most recently by boards in Orange County and Rockingham County. Rockingham voted to begin its membership with the alternative School Board Member Alliance, but keep VSBA’s policy services.

On May 20, board members in Orange County voted not to renew their agreements with VSBA, citing thousands of dollars in costs and saying they could find resources elsewhere. Members are also only attending some training sessions, which carry additional fees.

Orange County board member Darlene Dawson claimed that the VSBA has been a “monopoly” for a long time.

“They self-identify as a lobbying organization, and they lobby for many things that I, on principle, stand against, and I’m not interested in supporting them,” Dawson said in May. “I prefer to take my training from someone who supports my values.”

A controversial alternative

The School Board Member Alliance of Virginia, a conservative-leaning group and nonprofit organization, has emerged as a popular alternative for some of VSBA’s former school board members in the past year.

As of June 12, the association represents five percent of Virginia’s school boards members and supports parental rights, educational freedom for families and traditional academics. Unlike the VSBA, the Alliance offers individual memberships.

“Our professional development is based on the powers and duties afforded to school board members under Virginia law,” said Shelly Norden, spokesperson for SBMA. “We believe every child deserves a quality education in a safe and disruption-free environment. School boards have the legal authority to ensure this is happening.”

Alliance members and leaders have reportedly threatened a board member in York County (which the SBMA refutes) and rebranded two schools with Confederate names in Shenandoah County.

Norden said the alliance’s members were elected to local school boards to serve their constituents.

“SBMA launched to give school board members a choice when it comes to professional development,” Norden said in an email to the Mercury. “Our goal is to continue adding professional development opportunities and services that will enable our members to serve their communities effectively.”

Keeping the agreement

Some board members have been unsuccessful in swaying their colleagues to retain their membership with VSBA, despite the organization’s long history and track record of advocacy. Others remain optimistic.

“I think you get out of these organizations, what you put into them, and if you choose to attend the professional development conferences and sessions that each organization offers, I think you will get more out of it than you think,” said Robert Hundley Jr., a Hanover County school board member and former VSBA board president, at a June 11 Hanover County School Board meeting.

Other members across the commonwealth expressed concern that leaving VSBA could impact whether their school’s policies and procedures would be updated to ensure the division’s compliance with state laws.

“That’s what it does,” said Orange County Board Member Jack Rickett, who voted against leading VSBA. “Can other people do that? Yes, they can … Lawyers are going to cost money, and we will have extensive legal fees when we remove ourselves from the VSBA.”

In Rockingham County, board member Jackie Lohr pointed out that VSBA’s position as a lobbyist for school boards gives members a way to influence policymakers that they wouldn’t otherwise have.

“When we’re no longer members, we no longer have a voice, we no longer have a vote,” Lohr said at the June 10 Rockingham school board meeting. “They are a big, big machine and they will continue to lobby, and they have the ears of a lot of politicians and if we’re not there to provide the conservative voice, no one else will be.”

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury

Correction: This story inadvertently published that Warren County Board Member Tom McFadden Jr. voted against renewing the membership instead of Ralph Rinaldi. 

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.

Mountain Valley Pipeline, the 303-mile vessel that will deliver natural gas from the Appalachian region of West Virginia and Pennsylvania into Southwest Virginia, officially went into service Friday, after about a decade of steadfast opposition over concerns about environmental and community impacts in the areas in its path.

In a news release, the company said the project is now available to deliver natural gas with a capacity of up to 2 billion cubic feet of gas per day. Roanoke Gas said in a separate release Friday it had begun receiving the fossil fuel.

Diana Charletta, president and chief executive officer of Equitrans Midstream Corp, the pipeline’s developer, called the day an “important and long-awaited one,” for the country that will allow “greater access to an abundant supply of domestic natural gas for use as an affordable, reliable, and cleaner energy resource.”

The project was first announced in 2014 and planned to deliver natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale regions into Pittsylvania County, with an anticipated completion date in 2018.

But numerous legal challenges led the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn state permits, finding some agencies failed to adequately ensure protections against sediment erosion and harm to endangered fish species, such as the candy darter.

In May 2023, however, Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin included a measure in a federal stop-gap spending plan, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, that required all state and federal agencies to approve permits necessary for the project to be completed. The measure also prevented any legal challenges until it was completed.

With that greenlight, MVP resumed construction in August. The company requested final approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Monday, stating that the project was “mechanically complete.”

On Tuesday, FERC granted the OK, after consultation with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration revealed the agency “had no objections if Commission staff were to authorize in-service for the Mountain Valley Pipeline project.” MVP had entered into a consent agreement with PHMSA in October, because of conditions posing “an integrity risk to public safety, property or the environment.”

Terry L. Turpin, director of the FERC office that oversees the project stated that “Mountain Valley has adequately stabilized the areas disturbed by construction and that restoration and stabilization of the construction work are proceeding satisfactorily.”

The cost of the project, initially stated to be $3.5 billion in 2018, more than doubled to $7.85 billion, according to a news release earlier this year..

Scrutiny of the project, including the safety of coatings on the pipeline that laid out in the elements during years of delay and violations for preventing sediment erosion, increased in recent weeks as requests for the project to come online were submitted.

Mountain Valley Pipeline segment ruptures during test

On Wednesday, when the pipeline’s activation was imminent, groups who have been advocating on behalf of indigenous people, other community members and the environment in West and Southwest Virginia raised their concerns and called for continued caution.

“I don’t know how else to express how angry, infuriated, grief stricken I am in this moment,” said Russell Chisholm, co-executive director of Protect our Water and Heritage Rights. The pipeline would have “repercussions …for everyone upstream in the fracking fields, and everyone downstream, where the gas is shipped and eventually burned, overheating our planet.”

Following a test failure on May 1, Appalachian Voices continuously submitted requests for information on inspection reports, in addition to  the March 29 quarterly report that was most recently released, but received no response, said Jessica Sims, the group’s Virginia field coordinator.

The lack of response from PHMSA and FERC has left community members in the dark with little legal recourse to take action, Sims added, while condemning Manchin’s intervention at the federal level.

“The level of congressional interference with the project was unprecedented and certainly concerning as a reality that could happen again,” Sims said. “We remain deeply disappointed that one pet project was put on an unrelated debt bill and used to pressure members of congress on a matter they should not have been weighing in on in that way. That lack of separation of judicial and legislative powers is deeply concerning,” said Sims.

PHMSA officials said in response to questions over its transparency, that information for the public can be found on PHMSA’s website in an electronic reading room.

A PHMSA official said the law requires the agency to “consult and redact” information that’s sensitive or confidential.

“This process can take time. Nonetheless, PHMSA and its community liaisons have provided numerous briefings to the public directly, congressional offices, and to interested reporters on the matter.“

MVP will be required to conduct different testing within a year of operation and the agency is awaiting results on what caused the May test failure, the official added.

Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality, “will continue to monitor the progress of final grading, stabilization, and restoration, which includes vegetation establishment,” an agency spokesperson stated Friday.

by Charlie Paullin, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.

For much of the past week, some Virginia political leaders have been conveying a message that the General Assembly will undo a recent policy change that angered military families.

At task force meeting, military families rip ‘ugly side of Virginia’s government’

But it became clear Thursday that the state Senate and House of Delegates haven’t agreed yet on a way out of the controversy surrounding the Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program. The program waives college tuition expenses for spouses and children of military members who were killed or severely disabled as a result of their service.

Senate leaders announced their chamber will return to Richmond on June 18, which is 10 days before the June 28 date the House had already selected. That schedule raises numerous logistical questions about what might happen if the two legislative chambers meet on different days to try to pass different bills on the same topic.

Participation in the VMSDEP program has spiked over the past five years, sparking concern among higher ed leaders that they were being asked to educate a growing number of students for free. The General Assembly’s attempt to reduce those costs by putting limits on the program has drawn fiery opposition from veterans’ groups. And the public pushback has forced political leaders into a difficult choice over whether to retreat or stand firm on the need to quickly address VMSDEP’s growing financial impact.

The recent revisions to the program impose a stricter Virginia residency requirement, prevents the waivers from being used for advanced degrees or a second undergraduate degree and requires participants to first pursue other forms of financial aid and only use VMSDEP for remaining costs.

In a news release, Senate Democrats indicated they won’t push for a complete repeal of recent changes limiting eligibility for VMSDEP benefits. They’ll instead pursue a partial rollback, which conflicts with the full repeal stance taken by Gov. Glenn Youngkin and House leaders.

“If we were to put it back in place there’d be a huge rush to sign up for the program,” Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said in an interview Thursday. “And then we’re probably looking at a program that costs well over $100M that’s even harder to make adjustments to.”

In the release, Senate Finance and Appropriations Chair Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, noted that the budget containing the disputed VMSDEP overhaul passed with bipartisan support.

“We are committed to taking this necessary step to rectify unintended consequences as we continue to work together to conduct an independent review to find a long-term solution for VMSDEP,” Lucas said in the Senate Democrats’ release. “After my personal experience with massive resistance, I have dedicated my entire legislative career to ensure that everyone can access educational opportunities and reach their full potential. Our budget reflects this belief and the proposed changes reinforce my support for all students.”

The lack of agreement by the two General Assembly chambers, both of which are controlled by Democrats, could add more fuel to the controversy that erupted after the swift passage of an overdue state budget last month.

“The idea that Senator Lucas thinks it is acceptable to go rogue on this issue makes it clear she does not value veterans,” said Kayla Owen, a military spouse and co-founder of the Friends of VMSDEP advocacy group that’s been pressuring lawmakers to restore the program to the way it was before the budget passed.

Senate Democrats pointed to state data showing the program ballooning from 1,387 students in 2019 to 6,125 students in 2023, which has pushed the financial impact to an estimated $65.3 million per year.

That growth has sparked bipartisan concern, but leaders have struggled with how to balance sympathy for veterans with worries that the state has created an overly generous program that makes college virtually free for some families and more expensive for everyone else.

Virginia House speaker OK with special session to restore military tuition program

Advocates for military families have questioned that assertion and disputed the state’s cost estimates, arguing that adding up the amount of uncollected tuition isn’t necessarily an accurate metric for determining VMSDEP costs.

Democratic leaders in the Senate said the legislation they’ll introduce will ensure that anyone using VMSDEP to enroll in classes this fall won’t be impacted by the eligibility changes, exempt the families of veterans killed or wounded in combat with a 90% disability rating, require more guidance from the state on how to interpret the new rules and direct the Joint Legislative and Audit Review Commission to study VMSDEP prior to the 2025 General Assembly session.

That approach would keep some of the cost-cutting measures in place without erasing them all and starting over under a full repeal.

Pro-VMSDEP activists say that partial restoration of the program would exclude families impacted by post-traumatic stress disorder and service members who were killed or injured in training accidents or other non-combat scenarios.

It’s unclear how the House and Senate might resolve their differences, but the Senate going first could give the upper chamber more power to dictate the terms of what the VMSDEP fix will be. However, several Senate Democrats have expressed support for full repeal of the changes, casting uncertainty over whether caucus leadership would have the votes necessary to pass the bill described in Thursday’s release.

The House appears to be sticking with its plan for a full reversal of the VMSDEP changes. In a statement issued Thursday, House Appropriations Chairman Luke Torian, D-Prince William, said he’ll sponsor legislation “to restore the program to its previous form” as a task force convened by the governor works on longer-term policy recommendations. A full repeal bill sponsored by Torian and a bipartisan group of delegates who have worked on the issue was pre-filed Thursday.

“Veterans have many choices when deciding where to call home, and this program is a major reason why some families choose Virginia after their service,” Del. Jackie Glass, D-Norfolk, said in the release from Torian’s office. “I’ve heard from countless families in my district and throughout the Commonwealth about how these changes have disrupted their children’s lives and spouses’ efforts to further their education.”

The governor also indicated he still wants to see the VMSDEP changes completely reversed. In a social media post Thursday afternoon, Youngkin said “it’s time to come together and for the General Assembly to send me a clean bill that solely and fully repeals and reverses the eligibility changes made to VMSDEP.”

by Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and X.

Aiming to send a message, the Biden administration recently spotlighted its indictments and convictions in cases involving threats to election officials or workers.

But with no letup in reports of attacks, some elections professionals say federal law enforcement still isn’t doing enough to deter bad actors and ensure that those on the front lines of democracy are protected this fall.

“Election officials by and large have no confidence that if something were to happen to them, there would be any consequences,” said Amy Cohen, the executive director of the National Association of State Election Directors. “It is very clear that we are not seeing a deterrent effect.”

A U.S. Justice Department spokesman declined to comment for this story, instead directing States Newsroom to a webpage for the department’s Election Threats Task Force.

Launched by the Justice Department in 2021 in response to the wave of harassment of election officials that followed the 2020 election, the Election Threats Task Force works closely with local law enforcement and U.S. attorney’s offices around the country to investigate threats.

In going after those who make threats against election workers, the Justice Department is honoring a foundational purpose: The department was created in 1870 in part to protect the voting rights of southern Blacks during Reconstruction.

Run by John Keller, a top official in the Justice Department’s Public Integrity Section, the task force also includes the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the Civil Rights Division, the National Security Division, and the FBI. It also works with several other government agencies, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Department of Homeland Security.

Since its launch, the task force has brought charges in 17 cases, according to the department’s tally. Eight cases have resulted in prison time, with sentencing scheduled in several more.

In one case, brought in Nevada, the defendant was acquitted.

In March, a Massachusetts man received a three-and-a-half-year sentence — the longest won by the task force to date — for sending an online message to an Arizona election official warning her a bomb would be detonated “in her personal space” unless she resigned.

A Texas man received the same sentence last August for posting threatening messages targeting two Maricopa County, Arizona officials and their families, and separately calling for a “mass shooting of poll workers” in precincts with “suspect results.”

‘Each of these cases should serve as a warning’

Attorney General Merrick Garland highlighted these convictions and others in a May 13 speech at a task force meeting.

“Each of these cases should serve as a warning,” declared Garland. “If you threaten to harm or kill an election worker, volunteer, or official, the Justice Department will find you. And we will hold you accountable.”

But those prosecutions amount to only a tiny share of what the Justice Department has said is over 2,000 reports of threats or harassment submitted by the election community to the FBI since the task force was launched in 2021. Around 100 of those were investigated, according to the Justice Department.

The small number of investigations and prosecutions is largely due to free speech concerns. Legal experts say that anything short of a direct and explicit threat to cause physical harm may well be protected speech under the First Amendment.

“A true threat is a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence,” Keller has said. “If they don’t cross that line into invoking violence, they are generally not going to constitute a criminally prosecutable threat.”

Still, as the 2024 vote approaches, there’s little evidence that the volume of attacks against the people who run elections has declined, or that election workers feel safer.

A recent Brennan Center survey found that more than half of local election officials said they were concerned about the safety of their colleagues or staff — around the same number as in 2022, the year of the last federal election. Around a quarter worry about being assaulted at home or at work.

“This is a widespread issue in the elections community,” said Tammy Patrick, the CEO for programs for the National Association of Election Officials, and a former election official in Maricopa County. “It’s happening all across the country. It’s not just a question of it being in swing states, or just being in the city or whatever. It’s happening in a way that is a concerted campaign to create and sow chaos.”

“There is some feeling that the task force is a political tool,” said another election expert, “that allows the administration to say they care and they’re doing something.”

Troubling episodes but little followup

In March 2022, anti-fraud activists, accompanied by the local GOP chair, showed up at the office of Michella Huff, the election director for Surry County, North Carolina.

Huff said the activists tried to pressure her to give them access to county voting machines, citing what they said were flawed voter rolls. The group repeatedly threatened to have Huff ousted from her job if she didn’t cooperate, and said they planned to return with the local sheriff, though they did not do so.

Huff declined to provide access to the machines, and reported the episode to the state election board’s investigations unit.

A spokesperson for the board did not respond to an inquiry about whether the report was forwarded to federal law enforcement.

Election security advocates have urged the FBI to do more to probe efforts by supporters of former President Donald Trump to gain access to voting machines in other states, warning that the breaches could have allowed for voting machine software to be compromised.

Huff said she never heard from law enforcement on any level, despite speaking publicly about the episode.

Though Huff wasn’t physically threatened, she said she’d still like to have seen federal authorities do more to respond.

“If it is truly a threat, I think every threat needs to be looked at serious(ly), and it needs to be considered as to what the intent was, if it was successful, and what the repercussions would be if it had been successful,” said Huff. “A threat is a threat.”

More overt efforts to physically intimidate election workers also have at times spurred little law enforcement followup.

The night before South Carolina’s 2022 primaries, a Republican candidate who has promoted lies about the 2020 election posted a message on the conservative social media site Telegram, to a group of anti-fraud activists.

“For all of you on the team tomorrow observing the polls, Good Hunting,” the message said. “We have the enemy on their back foot, press the attack. Forward.”

During the voting period, groups of activists showed up at multiple polling places to verbally harass, photograph, and film election workers as they did their jobs, recounted Aaron Cramer, the executive director of the Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections.

The activists called the police to at least one polling site, falsely alleging evidence of fraud by election staff. The police came, but made no arrests — though the episode left the site’s lead poll manager shaken, Cramer said.

Cramer said his office provided detailed reports on both the Telegram message and the harassment at polling sites to the Department of Homeland Security, as well as to the state election commission.

“We took that threat pretty seriously,” he said, referring to the Telegram message.

He said he received a response from DHS saying the report was being looked into, but heard nothing after that.

“I don’t know what the conclusions were, or what occurred after submitting that information,” Cramer said.

But Cramer added that the experience produced a successful effort to increase collaboration with local, state, and federal authorities — with the result that the county is much better prepared to respond to, and anticipate, similar incidents this year.

“When you’re on the defense, you’re kind of reacting to everything, and I think that’s how the past was,” said Cramer.  “And now we’re being proactive.”

‘I dread November for you guys’

Patrick, of the National Association of Election Officials, said that while she understands the need to avoid running afoul of the First Amendment, authorities must balance legitimate free speech concerns with their urgent duty to protect those conducting elections.

And, she suggested, they may not always be getting that balance right.

“We need to be really careful that we’re not allowing people to yell fire in a crowded theater,” Patrick said.  “And that we’re not allowing people to use what they are potentially claiming as their freedom of speech as a way of creating chaos in a system, or to threaten individuals who are just trying to do their job.”

In addition, election professionals say they’ve complained for years that after they submit reports about threats and harassment to the FBI, there’s often a lack of follow-up beyond an acknowledgment of receipt.

Of course, law enforcement frequently can’t share details about their work, even with those who were targeted, in order not to compromise an investigation. But Patrick said even basic information could be helpful.

“Even letting them know that the report is being worked, so it doesn’t just go into the void, and a victim knows there’s going to be a knock-and-talk, gives the individual who made that report some sense of closure,” Patrick said, referring to when federal agents show up to speak with a suspect at their home.

The problem may be exacerbated by a lack of understanding among some in the elections world about what federal law enforcement can and can’t do. Many election officials, said Cohen, of the National Association of State Election Directors, want front-end help with steps like bolstering physical security to better prepare for incidents.

“Law enforcement, and especially federal law enforcement, is only coming at the back end,” said Cohen. “Their goal is not prevention or recovery, their goal is prosecution. And it has taken our community, I think, a long time to understand what we should be expecting from DoJ.”

Ultimately, said Cohen, the prosecutions brought by the Justice Department appear to have done little to reduce the number of threats election workers are subject to today.

“I’m really grateful that DOJ has secured convictions in Arizona,” said Cohen. “But I don’t think securing convictions in Arizona three years later has actually deterred anything in Arizona.”

Indeed, Arizona has been a hotbed for election misinformation, and its election officials continue to be targeted by a consistent stream of threats, according to multiple reports.

Huff, the county election director in North Carolina, said that with a major election approaching, members of the public often express sympathy for her and her staff — an acknowledgement that the vitriol they’ve been facing is only likely to get stronger.

“Out in public, I get that,” Huff said — ‘Boy, I dread November for you guys.’”

Virginia Mercury is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Virginia Mercury maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Samantha Willis for questions: info@virginiamercury.com. Follow Virginia Mercury on Facebook and Twitter.