Feb. 25, 2026 Editor, The News-Gazette: In the 2024 presidential election Virginia’s split between the two major parties was 51% (for Biden) and 47% (for Trump). As might be expected the current 6/5 division of Virginia’s 11 federal congressional districts is generally consistent with those percentages, being 54% Democrat and 47% Republican In 2020, the Virginia electorate chose to amend their state constitution to remove political gerrymandering by creation of a nonpartisan board to fairly apportion its population amongst those 11 districts.
Unless there is a judicial intervention, in April we will be called (by way of statewide referendum) to dispense with the nonpartisan apportionment board for the 2026 election and instead return that function to the legislature. The lines for the proposed, newly drawn borders for our 11 congressional districts have already been drawn. Political pundits predict that the new boundary configurations will yield a Virginia congressional delegation of 10 Democrats and 1 Republican ... a 91% to 9% split.
Local residents must make their own decisions on the referendum (and all should vote) based on their own personal persuasions on ethics, fairness and political affiliations. But I do hope that before voting they will consider the impact of approval of the referendum. In effect, it would disenfranchise 38% of the commonwealth’s voters. Such a result would not, in my opinion, be consistent with our cherished belief in a democratic, representative democracy. If the 47% of Virginia voters who are politically conservative were to be represented by a mere 9% of the state’s congressional delegation, their representation could neither be considered proportionate nor fair. LARRYC. WIESE Rockbridge County
