Trump Claims Virginia Vote Was 'Rigged Election'

President Trump is again alleging election foul play, this time in Virginia, without presenting proof. A day after voters approved a Democratic redistricting plan that could turn the state's 6–5 Democratic edge in its US House delegation into a possible 10–1 advantage, Trump posted on Truth Social that a "RIGGED ELECTION" had taken place, claiming a late surge of mail ballots flipped the outcome.

• "In addition to everything else, the language on the Referendum was purposefully unintelligible and deceptive," Trump wrote. "As everyone knows, I am an extraordinarily brilliant person, and even I had no idea what the hell they were talking about in the Referendum, and neither do they! Let's see if the Courts will fix this travesty of 'Justice.'"

The president has repeatedly and falsely characterized the 2020 election as rigged and has recently suggested, again without evidence, that unfavorable polls are fixed, the Hill reports. There were no reports of fraud or irregularities in the Virginia vote, in which the measure was approved by around 51.5% of voters, the Independent reports. The Independent notes that the explanation for the late surge in Yes votes is more "mundane" than Trump's claims of foul play: Virginia law doesn't allow mail-in ballots to be counted before 8pm on Election Day, and the districts where support for the measure was strongest are among the state's most populous.

The Virginia measure, a significant setback for Republicans heading into the midterms, is expected to be challenged in court over claims that its language was confusing and that it conflicts with the state constitution. Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson had tried to rally GOP voters ahead of the vote. Trump political director James Blair argued Wednesday that Republicans still "overperformed," noting the margin was much narrower than in recent statewide Democratic wins. "If Republicans perform anywhere near on average the way they did in Virginia last night, we not only add seats to the Senate, but we add seats to the House," he said.