Virginia voters appeared fiercely divided as they headed to the polls on Tuesday to vote on a referendum to redraw the state’s U.S. House map to hand Democrats additional seats.
Anger was evident in deep-red areas of southwest Virginia, where the Republican-backed “No” side was hoping for strong Election Day turnout to defeat the measure. If the new map were approved, Democrats could potentially win 10 of Virginia’s 11 seats, up from the six they now control.
“It’s just unfair for the Democrats to have 10 seats and the Republicans to have one,” said Judy Quesenberry, 67, a retiree in Carroll County. “There’s no way that adds up.”
In Hillsville, the county seat, Barbara Hernandez, a 56-year-old small-business owner, said she also voted no. “I want my voice to be heard,” she said. “They’re disenfranchising all the southern Virginia voters.”
Nearby in Galax, James Hagy, 78, put it more bluntly — and appeared to have been swayed by the advertising on both sides featuring former President Barack Obama. The former president has appeared in ads supporting the referendum, but Republican “No” supporters have run ads highlighting Mr. Obama’s past comments in opposition to partisan gerrymandering.
“I don’t like Democrats at all,” Mr. Hagy said. “As soon as Obama’s face showed up” in an ad, he added, “I was against.”
In Goochland, Va., outside Richmond, Stephen Jenkins, 63, an independent, also voted against the referendum. He believed it was unfair to voters in right-leaning districts.
“We talk about equality and everybody having a voice and I think, by what is being attempted with this, it’s going to silence some people’s voices, whether we want to hear them or not,” Mr. Jenkins said.
Mr. Jenkins, who said he had voted for Donald J. Trump in 2024, said he believed that leaders in the Democratic Party would not use their advantage to help Black people with low incomes.
“As a Black man and in my 60s, I grew up in New York City, and I’ve been watching a certain party promise Black people in the community that they would lift us up, and I have not seen the results of it,” he said.
But in Loudoun County, a liberal-leaning suburb of Washington where Democrats were aiming to pump up turnout, voters appeared more supportive of the referendum.
Hunter Chandler, a 21-year-old student at Northern Virginia Community College, said he planned to vote “yes” because redistricting would help even the balance of power in Washington.
Mr. Chandler, who also works part-time at a grocery store, said he voted for Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, in the state’s race for governor last year, but had not voted for either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.
He cited his worries about the cost of living for his “Yes” vote, as well as the move by Texas Republicans last year to redraw their state’s congressional map, which kicked off the country’s redistricting fight.
“If you cheered for your side doing something that all of us on the other side thought was wrong, you shouldn’t be surprised that the other side did the exact same thing,” Mr. Chandler said. “I just want there to be more of an equilibrium.”
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