Virginians head to polls to vote on measure to counter Trump's gerrymandering push

+ Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions The Best Music of 2025 Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Planet Money Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions The Best Music of 2025 About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Virginians head to polls to vote on measure to counter Trump's gerrymandering push Voting ends Tuesday in Virginia, where a special ballot measure about redistricting could play a key role in determining which party wins the U.S.

+ Politics Virginians head to polls to vote on measure to counter Trump's gerrymandering push April 21, 20266:42 AM ET Heard on Morning Edition From By Jahd Khalil Virginians head to polls to vote on measure to counter Trump's gerrymandering push Listen &middot; 2:20 2:20 Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed "> <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/nx-s1-5791490/nx-s1-9738129" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript Voting ends Tuesday in Virginia, where a special ballot measure about redistricting could play a key role in determining which party wins the U.S. House this fall. Sponsor Message MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: Virginia voters are deciding whether to counter President Trump's gerrymandering push with their own gerrymander. Voting ends today for a ballot measure that could mean Virginia sends four additional Democrats to Congress. Jahd Khalil with VPM News reports the high-stakes election has seen millions of dollars spent on sometimes confusing messaging.

+ JAHD KHALIL, BYLINE: When Randi Buerlein (ph) arrived to vote early in Virginia's redistricting election, she says she didn't like what she saw. RANDI BUERLEIN: I'm looking at this booth, and it has a big picture of our governor saying, don't be fooled. She's on TV every day saying vote yes, but they're making it look like she's saying vote no. KHALIL: Governor Abigail Spanberger isn't the only Democrat appearing in ads encouraging people to vote against the proposal to redistrict Virginia to counter Trump. Former President Barack Obama does, too. (SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD) BARACK OBAMA: Our parties have moved further and further apart, and it's harder and harder to find common ground. KHALIL: But that comment is from 2017. The ad is paid for by the side opposing the redistricting effort. In fact, Obama endorses the redistricting measure, and the main group supporting it put him in their ads, too. (SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD) OBAMA: Help us chart a better path forward, Virginia. Vote yes by April 21. KHALIL: Republicans and the political action committees opposing the redraw say what's really confusing voters is politicians like Spanberger and Obama changing their stance on gerrymandering. And they point to the actual ballot question Democrats in the Virginia Legislature wrote. It says a yes vote would, quote, "restore fairness." The no campaign calls it misleading. When he voted in Goochland County, Casey Czajkowski (ph) agreed. CASEY CZAJKOWSKI: It's very much misleading on there. I know what I'm voting for, but it's misleading on that question. KHALIL: Rebecca Green is a professor at the college of William & Mary Law School. She says that generally, there's a lot at stake in the nationwide redistricting trend - or re-redistricting, as she calls it. REBECCA GREEN: There's a lot of political passion and there's a lot of concern, both from Republicans and Democrats, about the direction of the country. And so the sense is that all gloves are off. KHALIL: This round of the national redistricting fight may end today, but there's a legal challenge before the Supreme Court of Virginia that could invalidate how Democrats put the question before voters. For NPR News, I'm Jahd Khalil in Richmond, Virginia. (SOUNDBITE OF WU-TANG CLAN SONG, "SLOW BLUES") Copyright &copy; 2026 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. Facebook Flipboard Email Read & Listen Home News Culture Music Podcasts & Shows Connect Newsletters Facebook Instagram Press Public Editor Corrections Transcripts Contact & Help About NPR Overview Diversity NPR Network Accessibility Ethics Finances Get Involved Support Public Radio Sponsor NPR NPR Careers NPR Shop NPR Extra Terms of Use Privacy Your Privacy Choices Text Only Sponsor Message Sponsor MessageBecome an NPR sponsor (function () { var loadPageJs = function () { (window.webpackJsonp=window.webpackJsonp||[]).push([[22],{1167:function(e,n,c){e.exports=c(323)},323:function(e,n,c){"use strict";c.p=NPR.serverVars.webpackPublicPath,Promise.all([c.e(1),c.e(2),c.e(3),c.e(4),c.e(82)]).then(function(e){c(3),c(1140),c(116),c(94),c(52),c(493),c(239),c(102),c(104),c(1141),c(143),c(1142),c(238),c(48),c(1143)}.bind(null,c)).catch(c.oe)}},[[1167,0]]]); }; if (document.readyState === 'complete') { loadPageJs(); } else { window.addEventListener('load', function load() { window.removeEventListener('load', load, false); loadPageJs(); }); } })();