On Election Day last week, I stood outside of my polling station in suburban Richmond, urging everyone who passed to vote against unfair gerrymandering. Most people nodded politely as they walked by, but one young man stopped to talk.
He said he was a Democrat but planned to vote against the ballot proposal, which would redraw Virginia’s congressional lines to all but guarantee the election of Democrats in 10 of the state’s 11 seats. Intrigued, I asked him to explain his thinking.
He told me that while he supported the ballot proposal’s practical effects, he worried about the precedent. Wouldn’t red states, he said, just further gerrymander their own congressional districts in response? And what would happen, he wondered, when Republicans regain power in Virginia? He ultimately decided to play what he called the “long game,” recognizing that gerrymandering today could come back to bite his own party tomorrow.
Continue reading
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!