REVERSAL: Abigail Spanberger had 'no plans' to redistrict Virginia before election—now wants map redrawn

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger is supporting her state’s redistricting referendum after saying while running for governor that she had no intention of pursuing a redistricting effort in the state if elected.

Last August, Spanberger was asked about redistricting in Virginia and indicated she did not plan to pursue changes.

“Virginia by constitutional amendment has a new redistricting effort that was put in place and first utilized in the 2021 redistricting,” she said at the time. “I’ve been watching with interest what other states are doing, but I have no plans to redistrict Virginia.”

However, with a proposed constitutional amendment now on the ballot that would allow new congressional districts to be adopted, Spanberger wholeheartedly supports the measure. “I'm voting YES on Virginia's redistricting amendment,” Spanberger said in a post alongside a video statement.

In the video, she defended the amendment, saying it is necessary because it is “temporary,” is “directly in response to what other states decide to do,” and it “preserves Virginia’s fair redistricting process into the future.”

“I urge all Virginians to join me in voting yes,” she added.

The Supreme Court of Virginia recently stepped in to allow the referendum to move forward after a legal challenge temporarily halted preparations for the vote. However, the court has not yet ruled on whether the mid-decade redistricting amendment and referendum are legal.

“It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address,” the ruling said. “Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision.”

Supporters say the redistricting effort is intended to “restore fairness” in the state’s congressional representation. The wording of the amendment on the ballot, however, has drawn criticism, as it uses this phrase by asking voters whether Virginia should “restore fairness in the upcoming elections.”

"Who could possibly vote against 'fairness'?" Wren Williams, a Republican Virginia state delegate, said sarcastically in response to the wording of the measure, according to Fox News. Critics have slammed the amendment as the design for the new map is redrawn that could see all by one Republican lawmaker removed aside from Rep. Morgan Griffith.

"This ballot language is so heavy-handed and misleading that it’s essentially fraud on the people of Virginia," Williams added. "It frames a blatant, maximalist partisan gerrymander as an act of restoration."