Virginia County Removed “NO” Option From Ballot.
AUGUSTA COUNTY, Va. — I know it sounds like clickbait and I wish it was. But what I’ve uncovered here in Augusta County is real, so real, in fact, that my local sheriff called me down to his office to speak with him and an investigator about the election corruption I’ve found in our own backyard.
I went down to the sheriff’s office, presented my evidence, and he made it very clear that he takes election integrity very, very seriously. An investigator has been assigned and I’m hopeful that their investigation finds the truth and holds someone accountable.
Watch Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IRUUadyP80
What I Found
At the heart of this issue is something called a writ of election. In Virginia, a writ of election is required for every referendum — whether statewide or at the county level. A judge issues this writ as a court order, and it specifies exactly how the ballot must be worded and how votes are to be tallied.
The writ for Augusta County’s 2022 courthouse referendum clearly stated that votes must be tallied as yes or no for each question. That means: Do you want to build a new courthouse in the city? Yes or no. Do you want to build a new courthouse in the county? Yes or no.
But that’s not what happened.
They Removed the “No” Option
Instead of following that court order, the electoral board created a ballot with only two choices: build a new courthouse in the city for approximately $103 million, or build one in the county for roughly $85 million. There was no option to vote no. No option to reject the project entirely.
This isn’t just a technicality — it’s a direct violation of a judge’s court order. Without a “no” option on the ballot, it was mathematically impossible to tally votes the way the writ required. Not to mention, the people of Augusta County were stripped of their right to say no.
And this wasn’t the first time we were asked about a new courthouse. Back in 2016, we already had this referendum — and the people voted no by 67%. The county didn’t like that answer. So they lobbied the state to temporarily change referendum law and remove the “no” option altogether before bringing it back to us in 2022.
There is supposed to be no taxation without representation. Taking away a citizen’s ability to vote no on a taxing measure is exactly that.
The Financial Fallout
I want to be clear, maybe we do need a new courthouse. I’m not opposed to that conversation. But not at the cost of election integrity, and not by forcing a outcome the people already rejected.
Because here’s what happened after that referendum passed: our taxes doubled. Some residents in Augusta County saw increases of 180%. My own taxes went up 140%. And when taxes go up, our paychecks don’t follow. Local businesses can’t absorb these costs indefinitely. Yet here we are in 2026, and they’re already talking about raising taxes again.
There’s More — We Have an Audio Recording
Beyond the ballot design itself, I also have an audio recording of the electoral office discussing how they planned to handle and tabulate the data after the election. To me, that raises serious questions about whether the results of this referendum were manipulated after the fact.
I believe someone committed a crime here. They violated a judge’s court order. They created a ballot that made it impossible to comply with that order, and I need to see people held accountable.
Why This Is Happening?
This entire issue stems from the fact that a judge ordered that Augusta County provide a safe courthouse for the county. Past board of supervisors neglected the existing courthouse to the point where millions of dollar are needed to repair or build new. The county actually hired a company which quoted $10million to repair the existing courthouse, but supervisors wanted a new courthouse, so they rigged an election.
While some board members insist a judge ordered them to build new, the actual show cause order by the judge only says to provide a safe courthouse.
Bottom line, no judge ordered the building of a new courthouse.
The Augusta County Sheriff’s Office investigation is ongoing. County officials have not yet publicly responded to these allegations.
