{"id":2584463,"date":"2026-03-27T09:41:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-27T13:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cocky-virginia-dems-starting-to-sweat-over-aprils-referendum-on-rigged-political-maps\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T09:42:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T13:42:33","slug":"cocky-virginia-dems-starting-to-sweat-over-aprils-referendum-on-rigged-political-maps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/cocky-virginia-dems-starting-to-sweat-over-aprils-referendum-on-rigged-political-maps\/","title":{"rendered":"Cocky Virginia Dems Starting To Sweat Over April&#8217;s Referendum"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcocky-virginia-dems-starting-to-sweat-over-aprils-referendum-on-rigged-political-maps%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2584463&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>the Federalist article analyzes Virginia\u2019s April 21, 2026 referendum, which asks voters to amend the state constitution to let the General Assembly temporarily adopt new congressional districts to \u201crestore fairness\u201d before normal redistricting resumes after the 2030 census. The piece argues this would amount to a Democratic-friendly gerrymander that could yield several additional House seats and a significant partisan edge in the next Congress.<\/p>\n<p>Key points include:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The author contends Democrats are using the referendum to rig maps in thier favor, contrasting the ballot\u2019s \u201cfairness\u201d language with the potential for a biased, mid-decade redraw.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; A Heritage Action poll is cited, showing strong voter opposition to maps that disproportionately favor one party and broad sentiment that maps should reflect voters\u2019 interests rather than politicians.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Critics denounce the ballot wording as \u201cOrwellian\u201d and unclear, noting disputes over whether maps will be displayed at polling places; the state asserts it is indeed complying with law and providing explanations in plain English.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The piece highlights political tensions: Democrats allegedly worry about losing the referendum ahead of November\u2019s midterms, while Republicans report stronger early-voting turnout in GOP-leaning areas and emphasize the stakes of splitting Prince William County into multiple districts.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; it frames the issue as part of a broader pattern of left-leaning strategy in Virginia, comparing it to tactics seen in other states, and casts Gov. Abigail Spanberger as a central figure in the Democrat\u2019s push.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The article closes by presenting the referendum as a wake-up call, suggesting that the Democratic strategy could influence the balance of power in the state and beyond, and notes Matt kittle as the author.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The leftists who now control Virginia&rsquo;s government desperately want you to believe that ripping up a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >bipartisan congressional map mid-decade<\/a> for naked political advantage is fair. They insist as much in the language of the absurd referendum question before the commonwealth&rsquo;s voters <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elections.virginia.gov\/news-releases\/early-voting-for-april-21-referendum-begins-march-6-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">next month<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;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&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-rig-virginia-vote-with-misleading-ballot-language-equating-gerrymandering-push-to-fairness\/\" title=\"Dems Rig ... Vote With Misleading Ballot Language\">standard redistricting process resumes<\/a> for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?&rdquo; the ballot asks. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Did you get that?&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Fairness<\/em>. Or in this case a radical gerrymander that would help Dems grab four additional House seats and a 10-1 seat edge in the next session of congress.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Republicans sure don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s fair. Neither do a solid majority of Virginia voters, according to a new <a href=\"https:\/\/cdn.heritageaction.com\/production\/assets\/VA-Redistrciting-Polling_8.5x11_2026-03-24.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">poll<\/a> from Heritage Action. Asked whether electoral maps should represent the interests of politicians, or the interests of voters, 87 percent of respondents sided with voters. Another 61 percent of those surveyed said electoral maps should not disproportionately favor one political party over another.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Orwellian Language&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.elections.virginia.gov\/election-law\/proposed-amendment-for-april-2026-special-election\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">April 21 referendum<\/a> is really about changing the constitution to allow Democrats to dominate the state&rsquo;s congressional delegation &mdash; and to improve the radical left&rsquo;s chances of taking back the House in November. It would ditch a bipartisan state <a href=\"https:\/\/virginiamercury.com\/2020\/11\/04\/in-historic-change-virginia-voters-approve-bipartisan-commission-to-handle-political-redistricting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">redistricting commission&rsquo;<\/a>s maps drawn following the 2020 census and replace them with the Dem-friendly political boundaries. Maps that &ldquo;would make the Democrats of Illinois, the gerrymander kings, blush,&rdquo; as Jacob Alderman, chairman of the Prince William County\/Manassas Park Republican Committee, <a href=\"https:\/\/pwcgop.gop\/pwc-mp-republican-chairman-alderman-statement-on-the-victory-of-jeannie-lacroix-the-next-county-supervisor-for-the-woodbridge-magisterial-district\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">described <\/a>the Democrats&rsquo; &ldquo;fairness.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Even they aren&rsquo;t buying their crap.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[Democrats] must effectively make the case that even though this seems unfair in Virginia, it&rsquo;s totally fair for America, for those of us who believe that taking back the House is the most significant thing we can do to stop Donald Trump,&rdquo; Rep. Donald Beyer, an Alexandria-Fairfax Democrat recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2026-election\/not-done-deal-democrats-start-sweat-virginias-redistricting-referendum-rcna263726\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told <\/a>NBC News.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Like leftist-led California, Virginia Democrats are looking to their voters to change the state constitution to rig the system. It&rsquo;s a partisan response to Republicans&rsquo; mid-decade redrawing of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/2025\/12\/supreme-court-allows-texas-to-use-redistricting-map-challenged-as-racially-discriminatory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Texas&rsquo; political maps<\/a> poised to deliver another five congressional seats for the GOP.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In an X post earlier this week, investigative reporter Luke Rosiak wrote that the Virginia Department of Elections has told local registrars &ldquo;NOT to display maps on the ballot so voters know what they are voting for in the redistricting ballot question.&rdquo; True. An agency spokeswoman told The Federalist that the department is just following Virginia law.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>Virginia&#8217;s elections dept under Gov. Spanberger told local registrars NOT to display maps on the ballot so voters know what they are voting for in the redistricting ballot question<\/p>\n<p>The ballot will just ask voters whether they want to &#8220;restore fairness in the upcoming elections&#8221;! <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/auTJTYNVFd\">pic.twitter.com\/auTJTYNVFd<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lukerosiak\/status\/2036532084592799857?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 24, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Department of Elections has posted the ballot question wording and explanation on its website and provided it to local registrar&rsquo;s offices for display in polling locations. But the <a href=\"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/title30\/chapter1\/section30-19.9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statute<\/a> mandates that the explanation of the ballot question &ldquo;shall be presented in plain English.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>April&rsquo;s referendum question is as clear as mud, with the fragrance of &ldquo;fairness.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is part of a widespread campaign to keep voters in the dark about what is actually happening,&rdquo; said Matthew Hurtt, chairman of the <a href=\"https:\/\/arlingtongop.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arlington GOP<\/a> in a phone interview this week with The Federalist. He called it &ldquo;Orwellian language.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Democrats Have to be Worried&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>It appears a growing number of Virginia voters are seeing the light, and that has Virginia and national Democrats feeling a bit anxious a with less than a month to go before election day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Chris Marston, general counsel for the Virginia GOP, said early voting has seen &ldquo;much higher&rdquo; Republican turnout than usual. He and other party leaders told The Federalist they are seeing stronger local and regional grassroots engagement outside of Democrat-dominated northern Virginia.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our data guys said we&rsquo;re behind in early voting but the fact that&rsquo;s it close at all is good news for us,&rdquo; Marston said in a phone interview Wednesday, noting that Democrats generally vote early at a strong clip while Republicans historically turn out greater numbers on election day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re also seeing in the Shenandoah a really aggressive citizen-driven opposition. They feel especially screwed being drawn into three districts,&rdquo; the GOP official said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Virginia Democrats, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/03\/26\/abigail-spanberger-virginia-redistricting-election-00845675\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> Politico, are looking to Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, to close the deal on the referendum so the Dems&rsquo; opportunistic gerrymander can be locked in by early voting in November&rsquo;s midterms. They&rsquo;re growing &ldquo;increasingly worried about losing their April special election &mdash; and hurting their chances for flipping the House this November,&rdquo; the liberal news outlet reported Thursday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;&hellip;[D]espite Democrats having a fundraising advantage ten times that of the Republican side, the GOP is seeing strong <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vpap.org\/visuals\/visual\/early-voting-by-district-april-2026-redistricting-referendum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">early voting turnout<\/a>,&rdquo; Politico noted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>How strong?&nbsp; Republican congressional districts posted double-digit increases in early-voter turnout as of Thursday evening, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vpap.org\/visuals\/visual\/early-voting-by-locality\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according to<\/a> the Virginia Public Access Project.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think the Democrats have to be worried,&rdquo; longtime Virginia political analyst Bob Holsworth <a href=\"https:\/\/virginiamercury.com\/2026\/03\/24\/four-weeks-before-april-21-referendum-early-voting-shows-stronger-turnout-in-gop-leaning-areas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> the Virginia Mercury earlier this week. &ldquo;They have a financial advantage, but the challenge the Democrats have here is that they don&rsquo;t really have a face for their campaign.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Wake-up Call<\/h2>\n<p>The amendment question appears to be shaping up to be an early referendum on Spanberger, a radical leftist who laughingly ran as a <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/02\/17\/virginia-gov-spanberger-claimed-she-was-a-moderate-but-is-governing-as-a-radical\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">moderate <\/a>and won her bid for governor by double digits.&nbsp; She ran on &ldquo;affordability&rdquo; and &ldquo;steadiness.&rdquo; In the opening months of Spanberger&rsquo;s regime, Virginians are learning why the moderate act was Oscar-worthy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month a Republican <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsweek.com\/republican-flips-democrat-held-seat-for-first-time-in-nearly-4-decades-11662684\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">won<\/a> a seat on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors for the first time in nearly 40 years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But Alderman, the local GOP chair, <a href=\"https:\/\/pwcgop.gop\/pwc-mp-republican-chairman-alderman-statement-on-the-victory-of-jeannie-lacroix-the-next-county-supervisor-for-the-woodbridge-magisterial-district\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> the referendum remains an uphill battle, with so much at stake. He noted the new maps would split Prince William County into five different congressional districts.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Hurtt , the chairman of the Arlington GOP, said Republicans may be facing headwinds heading into the midterms, but a loss at the polls next month for Virginia Democrats would send a message that the blue wave may not be as powerful as once believed.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Still, Republicans have a record of grabbing defeat from the jaws of victory.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Alderman, the local GOP chair, <a href=\"https:\/\/pwcgop.gop\/pwc-mp-republican-chairman-alderman-statement-on-the-victory-of-jeannie-lacroix-the-next-county-supervisor-for-the-woodbridge-magisterial-district\/\">said<\/a> the referendum remains an uphill battle, with so much at stake. He noted the new maps would split Prince William County into five different congressional districts.<\/p>\n<p>That doesn&rsquo;t seem fair. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-knew-100-percent-he-was-fighting-for-the-little-guy-former-top-trump-economic-adviser\/\" title=\"Trump Knew \u2018100 Percent\u2019 He Was \u2018Fighting for the Little Guy\u2019: Former Top Trump Economic Adviser\">award-winning investigative reporter<\/a> and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Virginia leftists push to redraw maps for gain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2584464,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-11.49.08-PM-1024x575.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[76650,69388,76651,76649,74145],"class_list":["post-2584463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-april-referendum","tag-political-commentary-2","tag-referendum-news","tag-virginia-democrats-2","tag-virginia-politics-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-26-at-11.49.08-PM-1024x575.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2584463"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2584467,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2584463\/revisions\/2584467"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2584464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2584463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2584463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2584463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}