No matter who wins Virginia’s redistricting referendum today, the message Democrats are sending to rural Virginians will last for decades. By backing an amendment to the Virginia Constitution that effectively disenfranchises half the state, Democrats are telling voters outside Virginia’s most populous urban counties that instead of trying to win their support, they would rather rig the election so some votes don’t count at all. The move may pad Democrats’ numbers in Congress for the next six years, but it should and probably has permanently damaged the party’s relationship with rural voters.

Six years ago, two-thirds of Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment that took the power to draw the state’s congressional map away from politicians in Richmond and gave it to the new Virginia Redistricting Commission. The commission drew an objectively fair map. In 2024, Democrats won six of Virginia’s 11 congressional seats. That 55%-45% seat split closely mirrored the 52%-46% vote split Vice President Kamala Harris achieved over President Donald Trump.