Obama Urges Virginians To Vote Yes on Redistricting Referendum

The former president is once again calling on voters to counteract Republicans' efforts to steal the 2026 midterm elections

Obama encourages Virginians to vote yes on redistricting (ABC News)

Former President Barack Obama is urging Virginians to vote yes on a redistricting referendum aimed at countering Republican election meddling ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“By voting yes, you can push back against the Republicans trying to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms,” Obama said in a video shared with ABC News.

On Tuesday, April 21, voters in Virginia will decide whether their state’s legislature will be allowed to redraw congressional maps to give Democrats a boost in November. If the measure passes, it could secure several more safe seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Just like California’s Prop 50, which voters approved by a wide margin last year, Virginia’s redistricting proposal is a direct response to Donald Trump’s underhanded efforts to rig elections and disenfranchise voters across the country.

Alongside his draconian SAVE Act, which would disenfranchise tens of millions of married women, the current president is also pushing red state governors to redraw congressional maps to give Republicans an unfair and undeserved advantage in upcoming elections — primarily by targeting communities of color. Despite being allied to the most despised president in history, congressional Republicans might still be able to cling to power for the next two years by redrawing maps, changing how ballots are counted, and deciding who gets to vote and when.

With the midterms rapidly approaching, Virginia’s redistricting measure is the final opportunity for blue states to push back against MAGA and even the playing field at the national level.

Make no mistake, redrawing congressional districts to serve a distinct partisan advantage is antithetical to a fair democratic system, but Republicans have left us with no other choice. Thankfully, the redistricting proposals introduced in liberal states are only intended to be temporary for precisely this reason; once red states reverse course and maintain the fairness of their elections, Democrats will follow suit.

In this case, Virginia would automatically return to a non-partisan redistricting process following the 2030 census.

“It is responsive, it is temporary, and a yes vote is our way to stand up and ensure that efforts in other states do not go unmatched,” Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger describes the measure.

Given the dark direction Donald Trump is taking our country and the entire world, November is too pivotal for Democrats to risk losing by clinging to an outdated rule book. Therefore, Former President Obama has thrown his full support behind redistricting.

“By voting yes, you have a chance to do something important,” he tells voters. “Not just for the commonwealth, but for our entire country. By voting yes, you can push back against the Republicans trying to give themselves an unfair advantage in the midterms.”

“By voting yes, you can take a temporary step to level the playing field,” he added. “We’re counting on you.”

More than 1,160,000 Virginians have reportedly cast their ballots in the election already, and if you’re eligible to vote in the commonwealth, please don’t miss this important opportunity to safeguard democracy for years to come — not just in Virginia, but in every state.

As the former president said, we’re all counting on you.