A group calling itself Justice for Democracy has been sending several deceptive mailers and texts to Virginia voters, particularly Black voters, using civil rights era imagery and language to urge a no vote on the April 21 redistricting referendum. (One of the mailers and text state that Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger supports voting no -that is a lie. Spanberger’s video makes it clear she is voting YES.)
Sounds legitimate, right? Let’s look a little closer.
Justice for Democracy is based in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its treasurer is Christopher Woodfin, an attorney whose firm has provided legal and compliance services to Republican candidates and committees in Virginia totaling more than $366,000. Justice for Democracy’s chairman is former Republican Delegate A.C. Cordoza, who has a public record of predatory behavior.
A second PAC, Democracy and Justice PAC, was quietly created on March 3 and shares the exact same Williamsburg address. Same chairman. Same treasurer. Different name. Interesting timing.
The mailers feature black-and-white photographs of civil rights marchers with the message “Our ancestors fought to represent us”, invoking the imagery of people who marched, bled, and died for voting rights, in service of a campaign to vote NO.
The NAACP called it out. The Virginia Attorney General called it out. All six Democratic members of Virginia’s congressional delegation called it out. Even another group opposing the referendum, No Gerrymandering Virginia, immediately fired Woodfin as their treasurer when the connection became public.
When asked who is funding these PACs, Woodfin initially declined to answer, citing attorney-client privilege.
So to summarize: a shadowy, Republican-connected PAC with a misleading name, created weeks before the referendum, run by a recently defeated Republican lawmaker, is sending mailers to Black voters using civil rights imagery to suppress the Vote YES campaign.
Nothing to see here. The NAACP and all of our Democratic leaders are voting YES!
Virginia, eyes open. Vote YES on April 21. Don’t let them fool you.
#VoteYES #FightBack
Since the first mailer was discovered, there have been two more mailers sent to voters in the Hampton area. Paid by Justice for Democracy PAC also.
Dee