A U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit seeking Virginia to hand over its voter rolls to the federal government has been tossed out by a federal judge.
The ruling yesterday (Tuesday) came from Judge Roderick Young, who President Donald Trump nominated in 2020 at the recommendation of Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. The ruling found that the Civil Rights Act does not require Virginia to provide the federal government with unredacted voter rolls.
Democrats on Monday filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to halt a Virginia ruling invalidating a ballot measure that would have given their party an additional four winnable U.S. House seats.
The move came after the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a constitutional amendment that voters narrowly passed just last month. The 4-3 state court decision found that the Democratic-controlled legislature improperly began the process of placing the amendment on the ballot after early voting had begun in the Virginia’s general election last fall.
More regulations on what vape products can be sold and increased enforcement of underage sales are included in new legislation heading to Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D).
In a news conference yesterday (Monday), Attorney General Jay Jones (D) highlighted the plan for increased oversight of tobacco product retailers under Del. Patrick Hope’s HB 308 and former State Sen. Adam Ebbin’s SB 620. The legislation would shift license and enforcement of liquid nicotine and retail tobacco products from the Department of Taxation to a new permitting system led by the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Authority.
Welcome to Friday, Alexandria! Here’s a look at ALXnow’s top stories of the week.
With less than a month until the Nov. 4 general election, this week’s most-read story is on the controversy surrounding Virginia’s Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones. The National Review broke the news last Friday (Oct. 3) that in August 2022, Jones sent text messages to Del. Carrie Coyner (R-75), “fantasizing about shooting then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children,” according to the Virginia Mercury story posted on ALXnow.
What began as a quiet October Friday in Virginia politics erupted into a full-blown national scandal when screenshots of private, three-year old text messages showing Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones fantasizing about shooting then-House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children were made public.
The National Review story revealed an August 2022 exchange between Jones — a former Norfolk delegate and one-time assistant attorney general — and Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield. In the texts, Jones described a scenario in which Gilbert “gets two bullets to the head,” followed by a wish that the Republican lawmaker’s children “die in their mother’s arms.”
Early voting for November’s general election starts on Friday, Sept. 19, across Virginia. Here’s what you need to know in Alexandria.
Early voting starts 45 days before election day, and the only contested elections voters can decide on in Alexandria are for the Virginia governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general.
