Former President Barack Obama on Thursday threw his help behind a redistricting effort in Virginia that goals to flip 4 Republican-held US House seats forward of November’s midterm elections.
In a video endorsement, Obama urged Virginians to help a referendum on a brand new map to guarantee “your voting power is not diminished by what Republicans are doing in other states.”
Obama’s public backing comes a day after the state Supreme Court cleared the way in which for the April 21 election wherein voters will determine whether or not to change the state’s structure to permit for the map redraw. Early voting opens Friday.
Virginia’s high-profile struggle is the newest entrance in a mid-decade redistricting battle that started final 12 months in Texas at President Donald Trump’s behest in an effort to acquire extra seats which are favorable to Republicans. So far, the coast-to-coast effort has yielded 9 extra GOP-friendly seats and 6 that favor Democrats.
The map proposed by Democrats, who management the Virginia legislature, targets Republican-held seats, largely by snaking districts out from the closely Democratic suburbs that encompass Washington, DC. If profitable, Democrats might find yourself controlling 10 of the state’s 11 House seats.
“This amendment gives you the power to level the playing field in the midterms this fall,” Obama stated within the video. Obama beforehand endorsed a profitable redistricting effort in California final 12 months that could help Democrats flip as many as 5 Republican-controlled seats.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat who took workplace in January, additionally urged voters Thursday to again the modification vote. “Virginians have the opportunity to take action in response to this extraordinary moment in history,” she stated in a press release. “That’s why, as a Virginia voter, I’m voting in favor of this amendment.”
Currently, the state’s structure vests a bipartisan fee with the ability to draw maps. The modification earlier than voters permits the state legislature to put in place a brand new map however would revert to the fee course of after the 2030 Census.