Augusta County Virginia ERASED 23,985 Referendum “NO” Votes
Our freedom does not matter if we do not protect our elections. And election integrity isn’t just a conversation about what happens on the national stage. It starts right in your own backyard, in your own county, with your own local government.
What happened in Augusta County, Virginia is a story every American needs to hear.
Watch this on my YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnUa3bCrHJE
The People Said No
In 2016, Augusta County held a referendum asking citizens a simple yes or no question: should the county courthouse be relocated to the Augusta County Government Center in Verona, Virginia, and should the Board of Supervisors be permitted to spend $45 million to do it?
The people answered clearly. 23,985 votes were cast against it. That’s 67% of voters saying no, we do not give you permission to spend our tax dollars on this.
Democracy worked exactly as it was designed to.
The Government Didn’t Like the Answer
Six years later, Augusta County decided to try again. But rather than simply put the question back to voters and respect whatever outcome followed, they took a different approach. They lobbied the state General Assembly and pushed through House Bill 902, a bill that removed the option for citizens to vote no on a referendum.
What’s most alarming is that this bill passed unanimously, with support from both Democrats and Republicans.
The 2022 special election that followed presented voters with two choices: a $108 million courthouse or an $80 million courthouse. There was no option to oppose the project. There was no option to say NO to a tax increase. The voice of the 23,985 people who voted in 2016 was simply erased.
A Court Order Was Violated
Here is where this story moves from troubling to serious.
Under Virginia law, a referendum cannot happen without a writ of election, a court order signed by a judge that defines how the referendum is to be conducted, how votes are to be tallied, and how results are to be certified. A writ was issued for this referendum. And according to the evidence, it was not followed. The votes were not tallied or certified as the court order required.
Disobeying the instructions of a court order is contempt. And there is no statute of limitations on contempt. Someone in the Augusta County government violated that writ of election, and that is not a procedural hiccup. That is a crime.
Why This Matters
The machinery of government was used to override the will of the people. A legitimate election result was buried. A new election was engineered so that citizens had no meaningful choice. And a court order was allegedly broken in the process.
If we allow local governments to nullify votes they don’t like, rig future elections through legislation, and violate court orders without consequence, then the ballot box means nothing. Protecting election integrity means protecting every election, at every level, in every county.
The fight for free and fair elections begins at home.
