Obama Urges Virginia to Allow Redistricting

Barack Obama has a message for Virginians. In a video released Thursday, the former president urged voters to approve an April 21 constitutional amendment that would allow the state legislature to redraw congressional district lines in time for November. Democrats say the change could help “level the playing field” after Republican-led redistricting efforts in states such as Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri, CBS News reports. “Several Republican-controlled states have redrawn their congressional maps to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterm elections,” Obama said in a post cited by the News Leader.

The stakes are high. Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the U.S. House, according to CBS, and Virginia’s existing congressional map sends six Democrats and five Republicans to Congress. Proposals backed by Democratic leaders could shift that balance to as many as 10 Democrats and one Republican.

The plan has drawn sharp criticism from the Virginia GOP, which calls the proposal an “illegal gerrymandering power grab” that would silence a large portion of the state’s voters. The debate also puts Democrats in the position of navigating past criticism of gerrymandering, including Obama’s own 2020 warning that the practice has “warped our representative government.” Early voting on the amendment begins Friday.

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