AFT’s Weingarten on the Virginia Supreme Court’s decision overturning redistricting referendum results

WASHINGTON-AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement in response to the Virginia Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Commonwealth's April 21 special election on redistricting.

"The Virginia Supreme Court's decision puts politics over the will of the people. A vote cast by millions across the Commonwealth should supersede other redistricting efforts by state legislators. But here, when the voters decide to redistrict, they are told they can't by the very same court that allowed the issue to move forward. And when Republican-led state legislatures change the rules mid-election, even suspending elections or ignoring tornado warnings to disenfranchise Black voters, that's allowed. This is a signal that something is wrong in America. The people of this country should be allowed to decide who represents them, not a mid-decade gerrymander started by a president afraid that his policies are so unpopular he would lose a congressional majority."

# # # #

The AFT represents 1.8 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.