Earlier this month, Governor Abigail Spanberger sent multiple bills to the voters to decide whether new propositions would be added to the Virginia Constitution.
Two of those bills regard same-sex marriage and reproductive freedom.
Both of these topics have been on the Democratic agenda for quite some time now, but Ed Lynch, a political science professor at Hollins University, believes that Democrats could use these topics to help pass a redistricting proposal that voters can decide on.
“These two amendments, the one on reproductive rights and the one on marriage equality, seem designed to drive turnout among the Democratic base, to get them excited, to get them to the polls,” Lynch said. “So they not only vote for these two amendments, but they also vote for the redistricting amendment.”
The reproductive freedom proposal would protect one’s right to miscarriage and abortion care, contraception, and other fertility care.
Should it pass and become a part of the Virginia constitution, it would invalidate restrictions that are in place.
“There will certainly be a lot of scrutiny about things like safety regulations for abortion clinics, the building codes, and things like that,” Lynch said. “Democrats will argue that very many restrictions at all, even basic safety restrictions, could be interpreted as a limitation on a woman’s right to choose to terminate a pregnancy.”
Regarding potential increased voter turnout, Lynch believes that with Democrats trying to excite their voter base to increase voter turnout, Republicans will respond in kind.
With topics like abortion, Republicans have strategies in place to counter these proposals.
“I think that they’ll try to present this as a very extreme permissive view of abortion through all nine months, no restrictions, no exceptions [and] no parental notification for minors, none of those things,” Lynch said.
He also believes that Republicans will focus on this topic more than the right to marriage.
“Republicans will probably talk about that one less, first and foremost, and secondly, they will probably say this is simply not necessary,” Lynch said. “The Supreme Court has spoken on this issue. It’s unlikely that the Supreme Court now, as conservative as it is, is going to mess with that.”
A special election for these bills will be on April 21, but early voting begins in early March.