Vote Yes April 21 to Protect Fair Midterm Elections

Two recent Royal Examiner pieces, “Democrats Redistricting Initiative a Blatant Power Grab” (Jan. 22, 2026) and “Commentary: Redistricting, Ideology, and the Risk of One-Party Rule in Virginia” (Feb. 6, 2026), share the same flaw. They treat Virginia Democrats as the origin of the problem, rather than acknowledging the Trump-instigated national campaign of mid-decade map manipulation that has forced this issue into Virginia’s lap.

Virginia voters believe that fair elections matter, and they chose to end gerrymandering five years ago by requiring a bipartisan commission, with judicial oversight, to draw congressional maps every ten years. That reform produced the current districts that reflect Virginia’s genuinely competitive politics and would have served the Commonwealth well through 2030, if national Republican gamesmanship had not created a need for a defensive response.

That is what this Virginia redistricting referendum is: a temporary defensive response. It is not a permanent system change. It has a firm end date, and after the 2030 census, Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting process automatically resumes.

The February 6th editorial warns about one-party rule, but the larger risk is letting other states tilt the national playing field while Virginia refuses to defend itself. Republican-controlled legislatures in several states are pursuing aggressive mid-decade redistricting to lock in an advantage before the midterms. This is not retaliation. It is defense. It is also transparent. Voters will see the proposed maps before they vote, and nothing happens without voter approval.

Virginians who value free and fair elections should show up and vote Yes for temporary redistricting on April 21, 2026.

Laura Kelly
Front Royal, VA

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