In the race to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States Senate, incumbent Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) is challenged by Doctor Daniel Gade (R). Warner was first elected to the Senate in 2008 and is in his second term.

Each of the fifty states have two seats in the Senate, for a total of one hundred seats. There is no representation, voting or non-voting, for U.S. territories or the District of Columbia. Senators serve six-year terms, and elections are held on a staggered schedule with roughly one-third of the Senate up for election every two years. This year, thirty-three seats are in contention, with an additional two up for special elections.

The Republican Party currently holds a 53-45 majority over the Democratic Party in the Senate. Two seats are held by independents who caucus with the Democratic Party, giving the Democrats an effective 47-seat minority. Currently, both of Virginia’s Senate seats are held by Democrats.

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All seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election every two years. There are 435 seats, representing each of the fifty states in rough proportion to their population as recorded in the most recent national census. There are an additional six non-voting delegate seats representing U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.

The Democratic Party currently holds a 232-198 majority over the Republican Party in the House. One seat is held by a Libertarian (who was originally elected as a Republican) and four seats are vacant. Virginia has eleven seats in the House, with seven held by Democrats and four held by Republicans.

Tenth District

In the race to represent Virginia’s Tenth District in the United States House of Representatives, incumbent Representative Jennifer Wexton (D-VA 10th) is seeking reelection and is challenged by Aliscia Andrews (R).

The Tenth District encompasses Clarke County, Frederick County, Loudoun County, the cities of Manassas and Winchester, and parts of Fairfax and Prince William counties.

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Article XII, Section 1, of the Constitution of Virginia establishes a process for amending the commonwealth’s constitution.

The state Senate or the House of Delegates proposes amendments and, after having been passed through both houses, they are then presented to the voters for approval. Once approved by the voters, the state constitution is amended as specified, and that change can only be reversed by repeating the amendment process.

Citizens of Virginia will be voting on two constitutional amendments in this year’s November election, each of which would change or add text to the Constitution of Virginia.

Question 1: Redistricting Commission

In the United States, apportionment between the states in the U.S. House of Representatives is (roughly) proportional to each state’s population as determined in the decennial census. Each state is responsible for establishing the boundaries of its House districts in a process called “redistricting.” States must also draw the boundaries for their state legislative districts.

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Article VII, Section 10, of the Constitution of Virginia requires local governments to obtain voter approval to issue bonds. Voters in Loudoun County, Virginia, will be asked to consider four bond referendums on this year’s ballot.

Bonds are debt. When they are sold, the issuing government receives an influx of cash from the purchasers. But, like a bank loan, that money must be repaid over time with interest.

Like any other loan, bonds should be used only when necessary. Most projects should be funded directly from the general fund (i.e., from the “money in the bank”). Only when some specific project is very important, but too large to fund directly, should we turn to using bonds for financing.

School Projects

Voters in Loudoun County, Virginia, will be asked in a referendum to authorize the county to issue up to $123,755,000 in general obligation bonds for school projects. These would be used for the Douglass School renewal, other facility renewals and alterations, improvements to school security, and “other public school facilities.”

Much of what I have to say about this will sound familiar to my readers. There are school bonds on almost every ballot, and I almost always have the same thing to say about them.

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