House Democrats quashed Del. Wren Williams’ attempt last month to debate the wording of a redistricting ballot measure that will be presented to voters this spring.
That’s when the Patrick County Republican caught a tiny break.
Because of a computer glitch, Wren’s alternative description of the constitutional amendment would not show up on legislators’ laptops. That left House Clerk Paul Nardo no choice but to read the entire amendment from the dais.
First, Williams had one request: Could Nardo kindly downshift from his usual rapid-fire cadence?
“If you can slow that down,” Williams said, “this might be the only time Virginia hears these words.”
Williams’ ill-fated floor amendment shined a light on a small detail that could make a big difference in the outcome of an amendment to the state constitution, which would allow the Democratic-controlled state legislature to redraw the state’s 11 congressional districts in time for midterm elections this November.
The redistricting question will go to voters on April 21. Early voting begins Friday, March 6.
The ballot will read: “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?”
Republicans are crying foul, saying the wording of the ballot question is heavy-handed and misleading.
Republicans file suit over ballot language
The Republican National Committee, the Republican Congressional Committee and two of Virginia’s Republican members of Congress — Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith — filed suit Wednesday to challenge the language on the ballot for the redistricting amendment as “misleading.”
The suit was filed in Tazewell County Circuit Court, where Republicans had earlier filed to challenge the legality of the April 21 referenum, an issue now pending before the Virginia Supreme Court although the court’s schedule for the case means a ruling won’t come until after the vote.
They seek a court order to block the election.
Republicans are particularly incensed by the word “fairness” given the fact that if the amendment passes, Democrats will impose a maximalist partisan gerrymander designed to unseat four of Virginia’s five GOP congressional representatives.
“This ballot language describing blatant gerrymandering as ‘fairness’ is so misleading that it’s essentially fraud on the people of Virginia,” former GOP Delegate Mark Earley Jr. posted on Facebook.
Democrats say the use of the term “fairness” is appropriate in the face of President Trump’s unprecedented effort to encourage Republican states to rig their elections in order for the GOP to hold onto power in Congress.
When asked how restoring “fairness” in Washington might feel to Republicans in Virginia who stand to lose nearly all of their representation in Congress, Scott spoke about the need to provide a check on President Trump’s seemingly boundless sense of power.
“This is bigger than Virginia,” Scott said. “Virginia is just coming to the rescue.”
When asked about the inclusion of such a value-laden term in the ballot question, Sen. Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg replied, “I think every constitutional amendment has been wordsmithed.”
Most of the 45 constitutional amendments that have been put to voters since 1971 have involved technical issues dealing with taxation, debt and the organization of government. The ballot questions have been written in language that is straightforward and dry.
Striking a neutral tone has not always been easy, particularly with amendments dealing with a few hot-button issues like gay marriage and hunting.
“The process could be messy,” recalled Mary Spain, a Harvard-trained lawyer who staffed legislative election committees from 1965 to 2014.
In 2006, legislators quarreled for weeks over how to phrase a ballot question for a proposed constitutional amendment that would deny legal status to same-sex marriages. The ballot question underwent several revisions and grew to a whopping 145 words.
Still, ballot questions overwhelmingly have been straightforward and neutral.
For example, when voters in 2020 were asked the consider putting in place a redistricting commission, the ballot question did not use words like “bipartisan” or “reform.”
In a review of the 45 previous ballot questions, Cardinal News could find only one that mentioned a potential benefit that would result from the constitutional amendment in question.
The one exception was a 1996 ballot question asking voters if the constitution should be amended so that “victims of crime shall be treated with fairness, dignity and respect.”
This year, Republicans complain they were excluded from any opportunity to craft the ballot question, which would bypass the redistricting commission approved by voters six years ago.
On Jan. 23, Williams filed a floor amendment that would change the ballot question to read: “Shall the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly, instead of the Virginia Redistricting Commission, to draw congressional district boundaries for the 2026 and 2028 elections, with the commission process resuming after the 2030 census?”
Democrats made a motion to “pass by” the amendment, which killed it without debate. As a consolation, Williams was given the floor for two minutes.
“Mine mentions you are bypassing something,” Williams said. “This isn’t just voting for fairness.”
“What is not fair about the current map?”
One of Democrats’ chief talking points in favor of the ballot measure is that it leaves the questions to voters, not politicians.
But Republicans fear the wording of the ballot measure will lead voters in only one direction.
“Who could possibly vote against fairness?” asked J. Garren Shipley, communications director for House Republican Leader Terry Kilgore.