The statewide referendum on a proposed constitutional amendment to redraw Virginia's congressional districts is heating up on the airwaves and in mailboxes across Virginia.
"Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy, but right now they are under threat..."
That's former President Barack Obama in a commercial supporting a constitutional amendment to redraw Virginia's congressional districts. But a new direct mail campaign uses a still from that ad to make it look like Obama is against the amendment, urging voters to "protect minority representation."
"They really don't value us," says Wes Bellamy at Virginia State University. "And they really think that we're stupid. And I’m hope that individuals turn out in droves to vote yes before April 21st not for anything else but just to stick it to the individuals who think that we're really dumb, unintelligent, uniformed voters who can be misled by a mailer like this one."
The most recent mailer follows another one comparing the amendment to Jim Crow and the KKK.
"It's dishonest in its treatment of historically oppressed voters who are Black and brown people, but especially the history of Jim Crow in the United States," says Jatia Wrighten at Virginia Commonwealth University. "And so, racism has always been an effective tool in this country to ensure that marginalized groups do not gain access to power."
Groups in favor of the amendment have raised significantly more money, and so they’re dominating the airwaves. But opponents are using their money in a direct mail campaign that may be coming to a mailbox near you.
