Why some Virginia voters find redistricting ballot question confusing
When Donte Jiggetts first learned about the special election to determine whether Virginia will move forward with plans for new Congressional districts, he initially found the question confusing.
He came across several TV ads, some of which urged voters to support the amendment and others that encouraged voters to reject it. A lot of constitutional amendments, Jiggetts said, can be written in ways that are confusing for voters who don’t take time to research what they really mean. So, he set aside time to learn what voting “yes” or “no” meant and had conversations with friends and colleagues about it.
As Tuesday’s special election approaches, some voters say they find redistricting and the ballot question confusing, largely because of conflicting mail fliers and TV commercials. Some include politicians, such as former President Barack Obama, and others have targeted voters with references to the Jim Crow era. While most ballots will only feature the “yes” or “no” question, it’s a departure from a traditional ballot, which typically separate candidates based on political party.
“Usually with these elections, it’s typically just a ‘D’ and an ‘R’,” said J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “Now, it’s kind of more, you really have to do your research. I’ve seen TV ads from the ‘no’ side where, ‘Obama and Spanberger are against gerrymandering, let’s vote against this.’ The voters really have to do their research here.”
Shortly after early voting started in March, some flyers had Jim Crow era images circulated, discouraging voters from supporting redistricting. Some mailers pictured the Ku Klux Klan. The NAACP Virginia State Conference described the effort as a “coordinated misinformation campaign targeting Black Virginians with deceptive, racially charged flyers, mailers and billboards.”
But there are other variations as well.
“I’ve been targeted a lot,” said Laura Fries, who voted in Alexandria on Friday afternoon. “There have been a lot of commercials. I’m getting lots of flyers, lots of disinformation, which has made me very unhappy. I feel like they’ve twisted some words from people from previous administrations that’s not really looking at what this particular issue is going to do.”
Kerry Leibig, meanwhile, follows current events, so she wasn’t confused upon seeing a pamphlet that had Obama’s picture and urged voters to vote “no.” But she said, “I did wonder if people who maybe weren’t as well-invested in politics might get confused.”
Yves Fischer, for one, had questions about the mixed messaging.
“It’s a bit confusing,” Fischer said. “But luckily, I have a beautiful Democratic wife that explained to me what I’m supposed to be voting.”
A Fairfax County election official told WTOP that they’ve been fielding calls from voters who, after casting a ballot, believe they voted incorrectly based on a new ad or flier they came across later.
Lucas Barton said he had already figured out how he wanted to vote before seeing the ads because he did research on the ballot item. And Margo Cunniffe said she was expecting people to “put twists on issues,” but was surprised by the quantity of mail she received about redistricting.
“I got at least five or six pieces, and then I got things via email as well,” Cunniffe said.
Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said it’s generally easier for voters to focus on a particular candidate than a ballot issue, making the issue more confusing for some voters.
“Do you like this candidate? Do you dislike this candidate? Rather than constitutional issues,” Farnsworth said.