Virginia redistricting campaigns have left voters confused : NPR

When Randi Buerlein arrived to vote early in Virginia’s redistricting election, she said she didn’t like what she saw.

“I’m looking at this booth, and it has a big picture of our governor saying, ‘Don’t be fooled,'” Buerlein said at her polling place in Hanover County, talking about Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger. “She’s on TV every day saying, ‘Vote yes.’ But they’re making it look like she’s saying, ‘Vote no.'”

Virginia is in the midst of a contentious vote on whether to redraw the state’s congressional voting map, which would give Democrats an edge in all but one of the state’s 11 seats. The new map could result in Democrats gaining four seats in the U.S. House.

Democrats won in a landslide in the 2025 gubernatorial election, but Virginia is still a fairly purple state, and Tuesday’s redistricting vote seems to be a toss-up, even as the pro-redistricting side has massively outspent its opponents.

Voters say campaigns have muddied the waters on the issue, from contradictory direct mail campaigns to a leading ballot question.

Even the names of the referendum committees are confusing voters. Virginians for Fair Elections is the group encouraging people to vote for redistricting. Virginians for Fair Maps is against redistricting.

And then there are the TV ads. While former President Barack Obama has appeared in ads encouraging people to vote yes this year, the anti-redistricting TV spot released by Virginians for Fair Maps uses a 2017 video appearance of Obama speaking against gerrymandering.

But the group’s campaign manager said it’s Democrats who made things unclear for voters.

“Any confusion was created by defying court orders, misleading ballot language and the hypocrisy of politicians. This ad simply serves to educate voters,” said Finn Lee in an email.

Similar ads have highlighted Gov. Spanberger’s comment in 2019 that “gerrymandering is detrimental to our democracy.” This year, Spanberger is supporting redistricting mid-decade to give Democrats an edge in the state. Virginia’s vote is part of a nationwide fight sparked by President Trump last year when he encouraged Texas and other Republican-led states to redraw maps to benefit the GOP ahead of this November’s elections.

Trump’s image has appeared on a billboard for the yes campaign paid for by the Democratic committee in Page County in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. “President Trump says, ‘Take over the voting,'” it read, “Vote yes on redistricting April 21.”

All of this confusion could depress turnout, said J. Andrew Kuypers, a communications consultant and professor at Virginia Tech.

“The cumulative effect of all of these tactics is really decision fatigue. People are going to experience that, and flat out, that’s going to favor the side with superior resources and the turnout infrastructure.”

As for early voting, though, the numbers aren’t far behind those in last year’s statewide election when Spanberger was on the ballot, according to figures compiled by the non-partisan Virginia Public Access Project using government data.

Dark money

Adding to the confusion, it’s impossible for voters to know who is behind all the campaign cash in the election.

Funding from dark-money groups, 501(c)(4)s structured so donors do not need to be disclosed, has made up the bulk of campaign contributions on both sides of the issue.

The Justice for Democracy PAC, which mailed voters anti-redistricting material with images of the Ku Klux Klan next to the text, “They want to silence your voice,” has received just shy of $10 million from Per Aspera Policy Incorporated, a 501(c)(4). The group has been active since 2021, but its spending went through the roof during the redistricting campaign, raising questions about who funds it.

Virginians for Fair Elections, the group behind the yes vote, has received over $64 million in contributions, mostly from groups that don’t need to disclose their donors, according to data compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project. Two major donors include the 501(c)(4) The Fairness Project and House Majority Forward, a nonprofit linked to Democratic U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

Virginians for Fair Maps, the group behind the no vote, has received $19 million across six donations from its own 501(c)(4) — also named Virginians for Fair Maps.

 “Campaign mailers masquerading as ‘newspapers'”

Free election-related newspaper-like publications from the Virginia Independent are also hitting mailboxes. They include recipes, articles on health and positive coverage of the pro-redistricting campaign. The conservative online magazine, The Federalist, called the Virginia Independent, which is part of a nationwide media operation, “campaign mailers masquerading as ‘newspapers.'”

The publication’s editor-in-chief, Joe Conason, says the Virginia Independent has had content online since 2021, and publication schedules have varied.

“Every story we run is fact-checked, our stories are vetted by counsel to make sure we don’t run afoul of 501(c)(3) rules for partisanship, and in every way, we put out a reputable news publication,” said Conason. “The Virginia Independent definitely has a point of view. At the same time, our aim is really to inform Virginians what’s going on in the state.”

A disclosure on the publication’s website says it’s part of a 501(c)(4), American Independent Media. The organization’s board members include leaders from left-leaning groups, including labor unions, NARAL Pro-Choice America (now Reproductive Freedom for All), and Media Matters.

Similar publications were also active during the 2025 gubernatorial race in Virginia.

The ballot language

In addition to the labyrinth of unclear messaging around the campaign, Republicans say the ballot language itself is confusing.

The ballot question reads: “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?”

“Promising to ‘restore fairness’ is not neutral framing. Complaining about someone quoting President Obama, or even Governor Spanberger, accurately? Glass houses and all that,” said Virginia House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore in a written statement.

“I know what I’m voting for, but it’s misleading on that question,” said Casey Czajkowski, a voter in Goochland County. “This is going to lead people to vote yes, 100%, just by reading the question.”