Virginia pushes back on election manipulation—and looks ahead to a fairer system
This week, Virginia voters took a clear stand for fair representation—approving a congressional redistricting plan that helps blunt the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to rig elections.
Last night, CAP’s President and CEO Neera Tanden called the vote a “clear repudiation of President Trump’s ploy to manipulate the balance of power in Congress.” The measure comes amid the administration’s push for out-of-cycle redistricting changes designed to lock in partisan advantage.
“By allowing Virginia to temporarily change its congressional map, voters have helped prevent Trump from rigging the system and trying to escape accountability for policies that are hurting Americans. This vote gives Virginians the power to protect fair representation in Congress for themselves and their fellow Americans across the country,” Tanden noted.
But Virginia’s actions didn’t stop there.
Virginia joins effort to upend the Electoral College as we know it
The state also became the latest to sign on to the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, an agreement that would, with the support of a majority of Americans, guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most votes across the country. Seventeen other states and Washington, D.C., currently representing a combined 222 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency, have pledged their support for a national majority vote in the presidential election.
The Iran war’s global hunger, health, and environmental crises deepen
Photo: Getty Images
Yesterday, President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire in a nearly two-month war with Iran, but the consequences of the conflict continue to intensify far beyond the battlefield. President Trump’s war of choice is cascading into global crises, driving up costs at home while destabilizing food systems, public health infrastructure, and environmental security worldwide. CAP’s latest analysis shows the toll is likely to reverberate for years or even decades to come.
The human and environmental costs of the war in Iran
The war in Iran is exacting profound human and environmental costs, with widespread civilian harm and long-term ecological damage already underway. Strikes on critical infrastructure have disrupted access to clean water and electricity, while contamination from damaged industrial sites and oil facilities threatens air, soil, and water quality across the region. The conflict is displacing communities at a massive scale and undermining already fragile systems needed to support recovery and stability.
Trump’s war of choice in Iran threatens a global hunger and health crisis
At the same time, the war is producing one of the fastest-moving global supply shocks in recent memory, with consequences reverberating from farms in South Africa to factories across Asia to gas stations in the United States and elsewhere. The World Food Program warns that an additional 45 million people could be pushed into acute hunger as a result of Trump’s war, while delays in medical supply chains are already affecting 1.5 million people across 25 countries. This is the kind of global health emergency that demands coordinated international action, yet it is occurring against the backdrop of the Trump administration's dismantling of foreign assistance and its weakening of global institutions.
S.B. 2471 has passed both the state Senate and House with overwhelming and bipartisan support. It is now headed for a conference committee awaiting appointment of conferees by the House’s top three leaders. House leaders must appoint members to the bill’s conference committee to keep the bill alive and on track to Gov. Josh Green’s desk for his signature.
This is Hawaii’s opportunity to be the first state to strike a huge blow against Citizens United. Moments like this do not come often. America’s eyes are on Hawaii and its leaders—stay tuned for more updates.
