Virginians are only slightly more likely than not to support a ballot initiative that aims to redraw the state’s congressional map in hopes of garnering up to four new seats for Democrats, according to a new Washington Post/Schar School poll.
The Washington Post reported that the poll, conducted among 1,101 voters at the end of March, “offers warning signs that the outcome could go either way as early voting proceeds ahead of the April 21 referendum.”
Fifty-two percent said they favor redistricting and 47% said they were opposed. The poll also found that Republicans and Republican-leaning independents have shown more initiative than Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents in voting. Eighty-five percent of Republicans said they will or already have voted, compared with 77% of Democrats who said the same.
Several states, including California and Texas, have pursued redrawing congressional maps to gain more seats ahead of the November midterm elections. According to the poll, however, many Virginians aren’t sure that redistricting would result in an accurate representation of state residents’ political stances.
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Fifty-seven percent said they think the districts should reflect the political makeup of the state, compared with 34% who said the map should be redrawn to counteract maps drawn by other states to favor a political party, according to The Washington Post. More than one in three of those who supported more balanced maps said they would also support the redrawing proposal.
According to The Washington Post, the proposal would create 10 new Democrat-leaning districts, a result that Virginians are also split over. Forty-four percent said that would fairly represent the state’s political preferences and 48% said it would be unfair.
The redistricting would also eliminate three pro-life districts, according to Joe Cantwell, grassroots coordinator at CatholicVote. CatholicVote is actively involved in urging voters to reject a redrawn map, as volunteers in Virginia are writing 10,000 postcards to Catholics across the state to encourage them to vote.