Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, says the outcome now hinges on how many people show up to vote on Tuesday. “Early voting has been comparable to the early voting for the governor’s race last November, but there may be a significant drop-off for Election Day voting between November of last year and April this year,” Farnsworth says. “Candidates often bring more voters to the polls than policy topics do.”
“The governor’s amendments have been laser-focused on building up her image as a moderate Democrat,” and “suggest Democrats in the legislature are going too far and too fast,” said Steve Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington.
Campaigns on both sides are spending a lot of money on advertising, according to Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at University of Mary Washington.
“What you’re seeing is an effort on the part of pro-amendment folks to really tie this to the actions of Texas and President Trump to level the playing field in their words,” Farnsworth said. “Whereas the anti-movement is very focused on pointing out the departure of this proposed constitutional amendment from previous efforts to reduce partisan gerrymandering in Virginia.”
“The ‘yes’ side has raised far more money and is spending a lot on TV ads,” said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington political scientist. “The ‘no’ side hasn’t had as much money, and as a result has focused on social media and a few public events.”
Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said it’s generally easier for voters to focus on a particular candidate than a ballot issue, making the issue confusing for some voters. “Do you like this candidate? Do you dislike this candidate? Rather than constitutional issues,” Farnsworth said.
“This is an extraordinary amount of money, but it’s not a surprise because the stakes are so high. This could very likely determine which party controls the next Congress,” said Steve Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington.
