Free Republic

After the Virginia redistricting power grab election on Tuesday was won by the Democrats, RedState reported that the battle was far from over. Now the battle moves into the court system, and that will decide the final fate of the constitutionality of this referendum. It didn't take long. On Wednesday afternoon, Tazewell Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled that Tuesday's referendum is unconstitutional and issued an injunction preventing the certification of the election maps. Judge Hurley has also denied any motion to stay his ruling pending appeal. This battle began back in February. Hurley was the same judge who...

Geiger Capital @Geiger_Capital · Apr 21 This is insane… The Virginia redistricting amendment on the ballot today is framed as a vote to "restore fairness in the upcoming elections." In reality, it turns a state that Kamala barely won by 5 pts from 6D-5R to 10D-1R.

@Geiger_Capital This is insane… The Virginia redistricting amendment on the ballot today is framed as a vote to "restore fairness in the upcoming elections." In reality, it turns a state that Kamala barely won by 5 pts from 6D-5R to 10D-1R

Virginia used to be a model of fair redistricting. That reputation is now gone. On Tuesday, Virginia Democrats passed a redistricting plan that transforms one of the most fairly apportioned states in the country into one of the most blatantly gerrymandered. Keep in mind that Virginia only narrowly backed Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in 2024 by roughly five points. Virginia is, in every way, a battleground state. Yet under the new map, nearly half the state’s voters effectively lose their voice. The new lines snake from densely packed, heavily Democratic suburbs deep into rural territory. There is nothing democratic...

Democrats scored a major victory on Tuesday as a congressional redistricting referendum that could give Democrats a significant boost in the battle for the U.S. House of Representatives majority in this year's midterm elections was passed by Virginia voters, the Associated Press reported at 8:49 p.m. ET. The ballot measure gives the Democrat-controlled Virginia legislature — rather than the state's current nonpartisan commission — temporary redistricting power through the 2030 election. It could result in a 10-1 advantage for Democrats in Virginia's congressional delegation, up from their current 6-5 edge. That would give the Democrats four additional left-leaning U.S. House...

The question: Should the constitution of Virginia be amended YES is FOR redistricting NO is AGAINST redistricting GO VOTE!

Virginians will head to the polls Tuesday to approve or reject a closely watched constitutional amendment that could reshape the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 elections. The standalone spring referendum will cap months of legal battles, political messaging and unusually high early voting interest. The vote follows a fast-moving and contentious push by Democratic lawmakers to authorize mid-decade redistricting, a move framed as a response to similar efforts in other states but sharply criticized by Republicans and some reform advocates. The proposal has drawn national attention and prompted multiple court challenges, including disputes over whether the measure should...

The early vote in Virginia’s special election on redistricting has turned out more GOP voters than the 2025 gubernatorial election did, as Democrats look to redraw the state’s map with a 10-to-1 blue district margin. Virginia is just one day out from its referendum on whether or not to allow the blue state legislature to redraw the state’s congressional map in favor of Democrats, and election forecasters are zeroing in on the state’s early voting numbers. The final early vote tally in Virginia is about 3% more red than the early vote turnout in 2025, according to election forecaster State...

Virginians for Fair Elections, a main group fighting to get Virginia voters to approve a ballot referendum that will allow the state to redraw its congressional maps, has been pumped with millions in cash from a web of George Soros-backed dark money groups and top Democratic Party officials. The money the group has garnered ahead of Tuesday’s vote, which is poised to allow Democrats in the House of Representatives to potentially take four seats from Republicans going into the midterms, also comes from leading Democratic Party figures and organizations like Nancy Pelosi and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Other...

Utah’s governor and the heads of both legislative bodies are investigating an alleged relationship between state Supreme Court Justice Diana Hagen — who is responsible for the crucial gerrymandering decision — and an attorney who argued the case. A complaint, exclusively obtained by KSL, was submitted by another attorney, Michael Worley, in late December. It asserted that Diana Hagen’s ex-husband, Tobin Hagen, alleged that Diana Hagen shared “inappropriate” text messages with David Reymann, the attorney involved in the redistricting case that established Utah’s new congressional map. Worley said he believed his duty as an attorney of the bar obligated him...

Virginia Democrats hope the new congressional map they’re asking voters to approve Tuesday will flip four Republican House districts, delivering 10 of 11 seats in a state former Vice President Kamala Harris won with just 52% of the vote in 2024. Here’s how they drew it up.The plan dramatically reworks entire sections of the state, slicing up deep blue districts in the Washington, DC, suburbs and around Richmond, and creates a new district running along the Blue Ridge Mountains that connects liberal cities.Virginia’s current map, which was drawn by a pair of court-appointed redistricting experts in 2021, is compact and...

The question: Should the constitution of Virginia be amended YES is FOR redistricting NO is AGAINST redistricting Prepare to vote!

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) announced on Friday that he will be retiring at the end of his term, potentially leaving his seat vulnerable to a Democrat in the midterms. Issa issued the announcement to retire soon after the deadline to register as a candidate in a district that became vulnerable to Democrat control after being redrawn last year. “This decision has been on my mind for a while, and I didn’t make it lightly,” Issa said. “First, we built the right campaign infrastructure, support has been overwhelming — including from President Trump — and our polling was unmistakable: We would...

A Virginia judge has just blocked an April referendum on the Democrats’ egregious gerrymandered map for the state.Tazewell County Circuit Court issued the welcome ruling Thursday, according to Just the News. The ruling was a response to an emergency filing from the Virginia GOP and the Republican National Committee. The gerrymandering is not only blatantly partisan, it violates the law.

Question: 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?

Top Virginia Democrats signaled Thursday that the party has agreed upon a new House map proposal that would give the party four pickup opportunities heading into November. “We made a promise to level the playing field, and today we’re keeping our promise. Our maps are ready. Virginia’s ready. We said 10-1, and we meant it,” Virginia Senate President Pro Tem L. Louise Lucas (D) told reporters. Virginia House Speaker Don Scott (D) said he expects the new proposal will be released either later Thursday or Friday. Virginia Democrats had been mulling two different map proposals — one that would give...

Virginia Democrats appear to be sticking to a plan to put a constitutional amendment before voters that would allow a new congressional map in 2026, despite a sweeping victory in November's general election and a fluid redistricting landscape nationwide. In October, Democrats used their slim majorities in the House of Delegates and state Senate to pass the first step in changing Virginia's constitution, recommending an amendment that would allow the Legislature to sideline the bipartisan commission that draws Virginia's political maps. Just a few days later, voters expanded House Speaker Don Scott's 51–49 majority to 64–36 and sent Governor-elect Abigail...

As migration patterns shift across the U.S., some cities are emerging as magnets for new residents. A combination of affordability, climate, and job opportunities continues to draw people to the South and West.This visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, highlights where Americans are choosing to move, based on new residency data from 2024 compiled by Point2Homes.Sun Belt Cities Dominate the RankingsLas Vegas stands out with the highest share of newcomers from other states at 33%. Mesa, Arizona (30%), and Colorado Springs, Colorado (30%) follow closely, reflecting the continued appeal of the Sun Belt. Affordable housing, favorable tax environments, and strong...

Republicans in Columbus had one job: draw a congressional map that reflects the voters who elected them. When President Trump called on GOP-led states to fight as hard as Democrats do in redistricting, Ohio was supposed to be part of that charge. Instead, it answered his call with surrender, handing Democrats a "compromise" map they didn't even have to ask for.

When I found Darshan Smaaladen earlier this month, she had joined several hundred of her neighbors at a “No Kings” demonstration in Orange County, California. Not that she was there to protest. “Rallies are great,” Smaaladen told me, “but they don’t get people out to vote.”A year ago, Smaaladen had helped lead a successful campaign to recall two ultraconservative members of Orange County’s school board. Now the 52-year-old mother of three was using the “No Kings” protest as a campaigning ground for Proposition 50, the ballot measure orchestrated by Governor Gavin Newsom that would redraw California’s district map to add...