Several reasons to vote YES!
Dear Sir:
To my friends who think the redistricting amendment is unfair, please let me explain our point of view.
Try to imagine our horror as we read of the President asking one state after another to redistrict in the middle of the decade! This is something that has never been done, and we can only see this as an unprecedented attempt to try to retain control of Congress even as the majority of the country is turning against his policies. Yet state after Republican-controlled state has done his bidding.
So here we are in Virginia, and we have tried to play by the rules, but for us, this is a bridge too far. It needs redressing. And here’s the difference between what we are doing, and what is being done in other states. Here is the fairness factor:
This is a time limited change. It only affects things until the next census. We will automatically revert back to a bipartisan commission of individuals and legislators to redistrict at that time.
And we are putting this decision before the people. If you think Republican redistricting in other states is fair and right, then you have the right to vote against this amendment. But if you agree that it is a limited response to an unprecedented power grab, then please join me in voting for this amendment and help redress a wrong not of our making.
We did not start this, we do not want to be doing this! But those of us who believe in the fairness of the electoral process just cannot stand by and allow Washington to redraw maps across the country and turn a blind eye. We believe enough is enough, and we want to be a part of the solution. And I hope you do, too.
Thank you for your understanding, if not your support.
Richard Stoner
Holly Farms Road
Rice
Pack the polls and vote No!
Dear Sir:
With the referendum already underway, I write to urge readers to vote “NO” on the Commonwealth’s proposed constitutional amendment on redistricting. I also ask each of them to bring as many likeminded voters to the polls as early as possible so that they also may mark “NO” on the measure.
The text of the amendment is as follows: “Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia’s standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?”
Many things may be said about this wording, but for brevity I remark only on the illdefined and emotionally-laden word “fairness.” That is purely in the eye of the beholder, and in the context of the announced plan for redrawn Congressional districts that the ruling party has in mind, turns the concept on its head.
Moreover, “restoration of fairness” is totally unneeded via this vote in that a majority of Virginia voters concluded in 2020 — via constitutional referendum — that an independent redistricting commission, as now exists, is the best vehicle to remove or reduce the inevitable politics of “gerrymandering” from our elections.
To take the state’s more or less evenly split electorate (between liberals and conservatives), as the governing party proposes, and attempt to turn it into a stacked deck of an up to 10-to-1 Democratic advantage over Republicans via a “Yes” vote, will return Virginia to the days of oneparty machine rule.
Such a political petri dish will attempt to grow an authoritarian majority that innervates minority rights, property ownership, and individual liberties. It will kill off the Old Dominion’s ancient aspirations as a democratic republic.
Recent pro-amendment TV ads have stated a national need for Virginia to counterbalance the political interference and bluster that resonate from the White House. In asserting that the amendment aims to redress subversion of democracy in America, these “big brother” pieces ignore that the party that promotes “temporary” Virginia redistricting went to extreme lengths in the last presidential election to ensure that Donald Trump was the one “beatable” candidate that they ran against.
That Democrats did such “somersaults, backflips, quadruple axels, and loopthe loops” to ensure that the Evil Orange Man was their opponent, tells you everything you need to know about them and their motivations on this amendment. It’s mostly about power (and plundering the taxpayer).
Voters: please vote “NO” on this misguided, unjustified, and unfair amendment to Virginia’s constitution.
Michael F. Whitaker
Genito Road
Amelia
Help their light shine brighter
Dear Sir:
Every child carries a light inside them. Sometimes it shines brightly. Other times, because of trauma or instability, it flickers and fades. But with the right support, that light can shine again.
Right now, many children in our community need foster families — people willing to offer stability, encouragement, and a place where a child can finally feel safe. For children who have experienced uncertainty, having a consistent home can be life changing. Knowing where they will sleep at night, who will cheer them on at school, and who will listen when they need comfort helps rebuild trust and confidence.
A permanent place to call home does more than provide safety. It helps a child rediscover their sense of worth and possibility. When a caring adult believes in them, their inner light grows stronger.
The beautiful truth is that fostering changes families, too. Opening your home and heart can bring unexpected joy, purpose, and connection.
Shineforth needs more foster parents willing to be that steady presence for a child. You don’t have to be perfect, just willing to help a young light shine again.
Sometimes the smallest act of opening your home and heart can illuminate a child’s entire future. Please visit: www. shineforth.org/foster to learn more or join a no obligation informational session.
Holly Coates
Nottoway County
Regional Director — Farmville
Lynchburg, South Hill Offices
Shineforth
Trump tramples our freedoms
Dear Sir:
The First Amendment guarantees the right of the people to assemble and protest government actions without fear of retaliation. Yet under the administration of Donald Trump, this fundamental freedom is being repeatedly and systemically undermined.
Peaceful demonstrators are being met with militarized law enforcement, mass arrests, and aggressive crowd-control tactics. Federal agents and troops have been deployed to cities without clear oversight, blurring the line between public safety and intimidation.
When citizens are discouraged from gathering through force or threat, democracy suffers.
The right to assemble is not conditional on political convenience. Protecting it is essential to preserving free expression and accountable government.
Elizabeth Hall Magill
2nd Avenue Ext.
Farmville
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