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Every day I’m asked, “How should I vote in the redistricting referendum?” Rather than telling people how to vote, I want to ensure they understand why they’re voting. As we head into election day for the redistricting referendum on April 21, I’d like to share these 5 things in the hopes it helps you understand why I encourage folks to vote yes.
Virginia’s redistricting doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Virginia is only doing this because Trump had states with Republican majorities redistrict to get more Republicans in the House. States with Democratic majorities responded in kind. If Republicans had not initiated this, we would not be here.
Gerrymandering is bad. That’s why Democrats tried banning it in 2021 with the intent for district lines to be redrawn by a nonpartisan commission. HR1 passed the House [ [link removed] ] but Senate Republicans killed it. Let’s be clear: there’s only one party on record to try banning gerrymandering. Republican Congressmembers in Virginia are on record decrying the redistricting referendum. If they truly believed what they said, then they would introduce legislation to ban gerrymandering. After all, Republicans control the House and Senate and the President is a Republican. They could pass this within a week.
But they haven’t. Because the only standard they have is a double standard.
The path to a permanent ban on gerrymandering runs through Democratic majorities. Winning a Democratic House in 2026 and winning the Senate and Presidency in 2028 would mean we can ban gerrymandering. In Congress, I will support this ban.
This referendum does not redraw the lines forever, it is temporary. This is temporary because the lines are redrawn every ten years - after every census. That’s why many folks in the current CD-1 went from being represented by former Congressmember Spanberger in the old CD-7 to being in CD-1 - this happened due to the 2020 Census updating the lines in 2022. So, we will see new lines for 2032. With a Democratic majority in Congress and a Democrat as President in 2028, we can pave the way for a nonpartisan (I want to emphasize “nonpartisan”, not bipartisan) commission to redraw the lines for the 2032 election.
There is no way to draw the lines to make this truly a representative map - and that’s not because of parties. At the polls or on signs you’ll hear things like “I don’t want someone from Fairfax or Richmond to represent me.” Voting “no” on this map will not solve that issue. That issue is about an entirely different issue known as a “capped House”. In 1929, Congress passed a law that capped the House of Representatives to 435 members. Nearly a century later, we’ve seen great population growth, yet the House has remained at 435. Meanwhile, our Congressional district has roughly 800,000 residents spread across various regions across the Commonwealth. A capped House is not fair to the constituents. Uncapping the House is a solution we can unite on to truly get better representation in the House.
What have we seen with the current Republican trifecta?
A Big Ugly Bill that closed medical centers and increased our taxes,
continued billions of dollars for Israel to commit a genocide,
an unnecessary “military confrontation” in Iran,
tariffs on imports without an industrial policy to bring jobs back,
millions of people kicked off SNAP and Medicaid,
increased health insurance costs, and more.
Should Republicans win the House, then we will see a Republican trifecta that will completely backslide us into authoritarianism.
The stakes could not be any higher. Trump cannot have unchecked power. Vote yes on April 21.
If this was helpful, please share with your family and friends to help them better understand why they should vote yes.
Feel free to leave a comment sharing any thoughts or questions you have.
Ready to join our team and knock doors, call voters, and meet up? Click to see the growing list of events: Mobilize with Salaam [ [link removed] ].
Sincerely,
Salaam
Dad joke of the day: What kind of truck do feet like to drive? A toe truck. [I told my son this joke on the way to school today and he laughed way too hard at this. He might be planning to ask for ice cream later…]
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