Dear Editor, There is a growing push in Richmond to alter Virginia’s Constitution, so politicians can redraw congressional districts for short term political advantage. That is not what redistricting is supposed to be, and Virginians should reject it.

Redistricting exists to equalize representation, not to sideline entire groups of voters. Yet the proposals being floated today would marginalize two major blocs — Republicans and Independents — by carving districts designed to predetermine outcomes rather than let voters choose their representatives. That is the very definition of gerrymandering, and it has no place in a Commonwealth that prides itself on fairness.

Virginians are fully capable of deciding who should represent them during normal general election cycles. We don’t need engineered districts to “correct” the choices of voters. We need competitive elections where every citizen’s vote carries equal weight.

And what happens in Texas or California should have no bearing on what we do here. Other states may choose to bend their rules, but that does not give Virginia permission to weaken its own constitutional safeguards. Our responsibility is to uphold democratic principles, not imitate the worst behavior elsewhere.

If we start rewriting the Constitution every time someone dislikes an election result, we undermine the very foundation of representative government. The Commonwealth deserves better than reactionary politics disguised as reform.

Respectfully, -John Bangs, Heathsville