On January 21, 2022, one day before the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Virginia’s new attorney general, by way of the state’s solicitor general, advised SCOTUS that the landmark case was “wrongly decided” and that “Virginia is now of… Read More ›
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Youngkin’s Election Integrity
Editors’ Note: Reposted from the Virginia Mercury, November 10, 2021. Commentary by Roger Chesley I doubt seriously that Thomas Youngkin, the 17-year-old son of Virginia’s newly minted governor, tried to pull a fast one by voting illegally on Election Day. He… Read More ›
Gerry’s Salamander
It’s been more than 200 years since the first sighting of the salamander in Massachusetts in 1812, foisted upon the public by Elbridge Gerry. Over those two centuries, the creature has consumed or created countless millions of useless votes by… Read More ›
New Voters Turned Virginia Blue
Editors’ Note: An insightful analysis reposted from The New York Times, November 9, 2019. By Sabrina Tavernise and Robert Gebeloff SOUTH RIDING, Va. — Not long ago, this rolling green stretch of Northern Virginia was farmland. Most people who could vote had grown up here. And… Read More ›
MEET A VIRGINIAN: Barbara Johns Defied School Segregation in Farmville, Virginia
Editors’ Note: The New York Times has an occasional series featuring obituaries of women whose life stories have been overlooked. This was published May 8, 2019. By Lance Booth The plan was daring, even risky: Convince the entire all-black student body to walk out of… Read More ›
Outlaws, Felons, Justice
On March 25, 2019, Gov. Ralph Northam vetoed a bill that would have barred former felons from receiving certification as notaries public. In his veto message, the governor concluded, Permanently prohibiting a person from exercising a civil right without a… Read More ›
Virginia’s Peculiar Relationship with Voting
Many of us who have come to reside in Virginia over the past few decades may regard the state as essentially a progressive jurisdiction. But a brief historical retrospective illustrates how thoroughly Southern Virginia’s roots really are. The Commonwealth of… Read More ›
And Lead Us Not Into Temptation But Deliver Us
In recent weeks it was reported that the New Jersey Democratic-controlled legislature was considering adoption of legislation that would provide the Democratic majority with perpetual district dominance by way of a constitutional provision. By any other name, it’s called gerrymandering…. Read More ›