This article provides a great illustration of the value of a local newspaper. We have seen in recent months that state and local elections across the country – most recently in Ohio, but before that in Iowa and Wisconsin – that the extreme positions taken by today’s Supreme Court are being rejected by voters. In the upcoming Virginia General Assembly elections, Virginia is in a position to speak a loud “Hell, no!” to the Supremes and to right-wing extremism as a precursor to what should be a nationwide rejection of this movement in 2024.
This article features the race for a local seat in the House of Delegates, the lower house of the state legislator. The GOP incumbent, Amanda Batten, is running for her third term in the General Assembly; her opponent, Democrat Jessica Anderson, is working hard to replace Del. Batten in Richmond.
This article does a reasonably good job of laying out the agenda each of these candidates would pursue in the General Assembly. This district is different from what it has been in the past; along with all state legislatures across the country, Virginia redistricted after the 2020 Federal Census. In Virginia, redistricting was accomplished through a new process – a constitutional amendment passed in 2021 established an independent commission to have the responsibility for redistricting, rather than leave the task to the state legislature. This commission didn’t work exactly as it was intended, but the result of the redistricting effort was generally seen as positive. The Princeton Gerrymandering project gave Virginia an “A” for its efforts in drawing districts for the House of Delegates. Virginia’s Senate redistricting plan received a “B”, and its Congressional redistricting plan was also awarded an “A.”
You can check out the Princeton project’s website to get a feel for the complexity of the redistricting process or to see how your state ranks.
I don’t live in this district – I’m between Williamsburg and the James River, just north of the line that defines District #71.
Unfortunately, we don’t have a Democratic candidate for the district I live in. The previous incumbent (a Democrat) resigned because of pressing family matters, which I fully understand. Because the district I live in is slightly redder than the previous district, it would be extremely difficult for a non-incumbent Democratic candidate to win. So the Democrats basically left this seat on the table for an unchallenged GOP win. I’m disappointed in this — we talked to a lot of people who would have been viable candidates for this seat, but no one was willing to make this effort. Including me, so there’s that.
But I know Jessica and am working to help her win this election. She is a solid realistic Democrat; as a lifelong resident of the area, Jessica defines herself as an “everyday person who advocates for her community.” She works in the front office of our local elementary school, and her life experiences – as a married mom to three daughters and stepmother to one son and daughter. She felt the pain of economic challenges after her 2014 divorce and has real-life experience with the value of social safety nets to keep families afloat.
She is on the correct side (IMHO) of all of the important issues that are under siege in America today. She has been endorsed by most of the local Democratic party office holders, as well as groups that are pro-choice, advocates of common-sense gun safety regulation, environmental groups, various family groups, and the like. You can see what she stands for on her website.
Jessica is running a campaign unlike any that I have been involved with. She has an enormous social media footprint, with almost 3,000 followers on Instagram and over 500,000 followers on TikTok. She is media savvy and is able to project her appeal to a lot of younger voters. This is particularly important in this district, as it encompasses the campus of the College of William and Mary, whose young voters are largely more progressive than older voters.
My local Democratic committee is gearing up for an all-hands-on-deck campaign over the next few months. My local candidate for the State Senate is another political newcomer – Pam Garner, a retired Air National Guard officer who was inspired to run for office by Vice President Kamala Harris’s invocation of the importance of community service. I’m not a door-knocking, phone-banking kind of campaigner. I prefer to work behind the scenes, providing administrative support to the candidates. This week, I’m working on building a spreadsheet for the local campaign office, so they can target their efforts as we get closer to election day itself.
For those of you who may not have thought much about the cycle of campaigning, as we get closer to election day the focus of the campaign changes. In the early days, a campaign is all about getting information out to all voters. Closer to election day, the focus shifts to presenting compelling arguments about why we support the candidate we do, concentrating on voters who have been identified as “persuadable.” Then, in the weeks before the election itself, the focus narrows even further, to a “get-out-the-vote” effort aimed at voters we are pretty sure are likely to vote for our candidates. It probably sounds rude, but I don’t want to “get out the vote” in areas where the voters are more likely to vote for the other side. I’ll encourage voters on my side to go vote. The other side does the same for their voters.
Virginia has one of the longest early-voting periods in the country, providing for 45 days of early voting prior to election day itself. This means that voting for our November 7 election this year actually begins on September 22. I also help out in the election office itself, and I’ll be manning voter machines for several days during the early voting process. I urge you to do the same in your community; it is one of the best things I’ve done to increase my own civic awareness.
Some of you may wonder how I square my own political opinions – which I don’t hide from anyone – with the requirement that poll workers be neutral as they help run elections. It’s easy. First of all, the “precinct captain” is around to address any issues that begin to appear partisan. We sometimes have poll watchers that the campaigns have recruited to sit inside the precinct and watch what’s going on. I don’t talk to the poll watchers — if they have any questions, I refer them to the precinct captain. I wear neutral colors (purple or green) on election day and I talk only about the election process when I’m in the precinct. When I see people I know as they come through the precinct to cast their vote, we greet each other casually and comment on the weather or how much we enjoy the civic experience of voting. People bring their kids with them to the polls and we give the kids stickers that say “I voted” even though they didn’t. Kids love stickers. I answer questions voters (or their kids) have about the process. If they have questions about the candidates, I point them to the information table at the front of the precinct where the candidates and local party organizations provide information for voters to peruse if they want to. The party organizations have tents outside the precincts, providing opportunities for more in-depth discussion than are allowed in the precinct itself. Sometimes my friends are outside in the tents but we don’t interact on election day. If a voter wants to engage in political discussion I steer the conversation in another direction or refer them to the precinct chair. Idle chitchat is minimized – for reasons of both efficiency and the avoidance of any partisan talk. I park my car (festooned as it is with political commentary) behind the precinct out of sight of the voting area.
So if you live in Virginia, you are an important part of the process this year. Virginia’s off-year elections are often seen as either a referendum on existing office-holders or policies or a bellwether to predict how the next elections might go. Virginia has the opportunity to shape the national narrative this year going into the 2024 election cycle.
If you don’t live in Virginia, you probably don’t have the chance to vote this year. But everyone in the country will have the opportunity to vote in 2024, so I encourage you to find your local party organization and get involved as they mobilize for next year’s campaign. Even if you just bring cookies to the party’s headquarters, you are helping. Everybody loves cookies.
Thanks for your service. Millton likes to work as a poll worker, altho I think his health will not allow it this year. If we believe that voting is the RIGHT, then it's not all that difficult to be non-partisan on election day and just be helpful. Am proud of you for doing it for Williamsburg-James City County.