NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Black Virginia leaders are calling out what they call "manipulative" and "racist" mailers that were sent to residents in opposition of an upcoming Democratic-led referendum on mid-decade redistricting in the commonwealth.
A Newport News resident sent News 3 pictures of the mailer.
The mailers urge voters to vote against the referendum allowing for mid-decade redistricting, likening the Democrats' effort to the era of "Jim Crow" — the period after the Civil War up to the Civil Rights Era, when Black Americans were subjected to segregation and disenfranchisement.
Historic images of the Klu Klux Klan and Civil Rights demonstrations were featured on the mailers.
"Just like Jim Crow, they want to silence your voice," the mailer reads. "Our ancestors fought to represent us. Now Richmond politicians are trying to take our districts away."
Watch related: State Supreme Court suspends lower court's pause on redistricting referendum
Early voting for this effort began on Friday, March 6, with the special referendum set for April 21.
"The mailers misuse imagery from the civil rights movement and invoke the history of Jim Crow in an apparent attempt to frighten voters into opposing the measure," a press release from Speaker Don Scott's office reads.
The Virginia NAACP — which supports the mid-decade redistricting referendum — said the mailers' reference to Jim Crow is a false comparison.
"We're not going to be fooled and we're not going to be deterred by this. We're going to stay focused," said Gaylene Kanoyton, president of the NAACP Hampton branch.
Virginia Democrats are hoping to redraw Virginia's 11 congressional districts to give them a 10-1 advantage in the U.S. House of Representatives — a change from the current breakdown that gives Democrats a 6-5 advantage.
Democrats say the effort is a response to Republicans in states like Texas and North Carolina, which redrew districts to pick up seats for their party, but argue in their case, the map is in the hands of the voters.
News 3 reached out to the group behind the mailer, the Democracy and Justice PAC and the Justice For Democracy PAC, attributed to Chairman A.C. Cordoza:
“Richmond politicians have ripped apart majority minority districts in order to increase the number of white representatives from northern Virginia. Dan Helmer, Don Beyer and others diluted African American vote strength to increase their own power. Plain and simple, some things never change. They help themselves, my community gets left behind."
Cordoza is a Republican former member of the Virginia House of Delegates who lost a reelection bid in 2025 to Democrat Virgil Thornton Sr. He represented Virginia's 86th district, which includes parts of Hampton, Poquoson, and York County.
News 3 also spoke with Cordoza by phone.
"It is disenfranchising our voices and it's the same kind of thing that you would be seeing in the Jim Crow era and we need to vote it down," Cordoza said.
When asked whether the flier is misleading, Cordoza said it is intended to inform Black voters.
"It's trying to open up Black voters' eyes," Cordoza said.
"Black voters need to know that they're being used for someone else's own agenda," Cordoza said.
When asked when he joined the PAC, Cordoza said he was not certain of the exact date.
"I've been with it since its inception. I couldn't tell you the exact moment when it was because I do a lot of projects," Cordoza said.
State records show Justice for Democracy PAC was created last week with an address listed for a law firm in Williamsburg.
