Virginia GOP lawmakers challenge referendum ballot wording over viewpoint discrimination

Another lawsuit involving Virginia Democrats’ attempt to redraw the state’s congressional map has been filed by Republican members of the congressional delegation, but unlike the others, this one is not asking for the proposed April 21 referendum to be halted.

This one, filed Feb. 18 in Richmond City Circuit Court by Reps. John McGuire and Rob Wittman, challenges the wording of the ballot. They say the question as it now appears is misleading to Virginia voters and generates “viewpoint discrimination” by claiming an affirmative vote would “restore fairness” to the electoral process.

The lawsuit ?filed by McGuire of the 5th District, Wittman of the 1st District and co-plaintiff Melissa Jurk of Northern Virginia ? is not the same as a suit filed on the same day by GOP Reps. Ben Cline and Morgan Griffith, and the Republican National Committee in Tazewell County Circuit Court that would halt the referendum altogether. A judge in that court has issued an injunction blocking the referendum from happening, and Virginia‘s attorney general, Democrat Jay Jones, has filed an appeal.

“Plaintiffs ask this court to require that the General Assembly comply with Virginia law by presenting the voters with a ballot questionntiffs ask this court to require that the General Assembly comply with Virginia law by presenting the voters with a ballot question that is neutral and accurate as required by the Virginia Code and Constitution,” the lawsuit reads. “The people of Virginia are entitled to decide the fate of a proposed constitutional amendment, and they are entitled to do so on the basis of truthful, unbiased information presented by their government.”

Political background of the referendum

The referendum is in response to mid-decade redistricting moves in states such as Texas and prompted by a call from President Donald Trump for Republicans to push for new district maps that would solidify GOP control of the House of Representatives. Last October, General Assembly Democrats began their own push against Trump by initiating a plan to temporarily redo Virginia‘s 11 congressional districts, a map that purportedly increases Democratic control of the Virginia delegation from 6-5 to 10-1.

Democrats also shepherded passage of legislation that created the referendum for April 21 through the General Assembly last month. The proposed referendum question is worded: “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?”

“Even if the ‘restore fairness’ language were not factually and legally false but only a matter of opinion, the statute adopting that language would constitute viewpoint discrimination and thus violate the free-speech protections of Article 1, Section 12 of the Virginia Constitution,” the lawsuit reads. It also claims the question violates free-speech protections under the U.S. Constitution.

Messages left with spokespeople for McGuire and Wittman seeking comment on the lawsuit have not yet been answered.

No hearing date has been set for the Richmond case.

Reporting by Bill Atkinson, Petersburg Progress-Index / The Progress-Index