Are redistricting mailers/billboard misleading?
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The NAACP Virginia State Conference says Virginia voters should keep a watchful eye.
That’s because they say mailers that include images of and quotes from former President Barack Obama and Governor Abigail Spanberger are being sent to voters to confuse them on where key figures stand on Virginia’s redistricting referendum.
Redistricting mailer shared with 8News
Redistricting mailer shared with 8News
Redistricting mailer shared with 8News
Redistricting mailer shared with 8News
“This is a misinformation mailer,” NAACP Virginia State Conference Political Action Chair Gaylene Kanoyton said, while holding up one of the mailers at a press conference in Richmond on Wednesday.
Some of the mailers urge Virginians to vote “No” and include quotes from Spanberger and Obama, where the two oppose gerrymandering.
The NAACP says those mailers are misleading because the quotes are old, some from as far back as 2019, or are taken out of context because both Spanberger and Obama have actually urged voters to vote ‘Yes.”
“Many quotes are dated from 2019 or recent date taken out of context, designed to confuse everyone into voting “No,” Kanoyton said.
However, former Republican Delegate A.C. Cordoza, whose political action committee is behind the mailers, says they aren’t misinformation because he’s simply reminding voters what Obama and Spanberger previously said about gerrymandering, which Cardoza says is exactly what they are trying to get voters to approve.
“If they have a problem with accountability, if they have a problem with being exposed for their own quotes and what their own beliefs are, what are we doing?” asked Cordoza.
Meanwhile, those particular mailers are not the only examples of potential misinformation being we’ve seen during early voting.
The Page County Democratic Committee put up a billboard with an image of and quote from President Donald Trump that urged Virginians to vote “Yes” on the referendum, despite Trump never endorsing the “Yes” campaign.
Copy of the graphic similar to the one that appears on a billboard in Page County as shared by the Page County Democratic Committee
In a letter shared with 8News, the committee’s treasurer, Joseph Petralia said the billboard is not misleading and said in part, “Critics argue the billboard 'implies' Trump supports the measure. That is a matter of interpretation, not fact.”
