The Washington Post - 05.11.2019

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ SU B5

of this election. The majority of guns in the District come straight from the neighbors across the Potomac. Raunak can’t vote, but he’s making a difference. Be like Raunak, D.C. folks. Give your Virginia friends a poke and tell them to vote, even if you can’t. For Raunak, these issues are important, sure. But this election is just a dress rehearsal for him. His team is hoping that their tool can expand and have a huge effect across the nation in the presidential election next year, especially when it comes to registering college students who are scattered on campuses across the country. He still won’t be able to vote in

“I’ll be seven months away
at that time,” he said. That’s not
going to stop him from making a
difference.
Okay, adults. Your turn now.
[email protected]
Twitter: @petulad

because he saw how few of his fellow college students were going home to vote. (None.) When absentee voting applications closed last week, they were thrilled when their analytics showed that 750 voters got absentee applications. This is an important election for Virginia. Democrats hope to take the majorities in the House of Delegates and the Senate. All 140 seats are on the ballot, and everything is close, with Republicans trying to hold their leads of 51-to-48 in the House and 20-to-19 in the Senate. There is a wave of women running in this election, and a recent Washington Post-Schar School poll found that the issues they’re hitting on are popular with female voters — stricter gun laws, the Equal Rights Amendment and a higher minimum wage. And when it comes to gun laws, D.C. residents should take notice

story in this election, with 135,794
already returned as of Monday at
4:30 p.m., according to the
Virginia Department of Elections.
The last time all 140 seats in the
General Assembly were up, back
in 2015, the numbers were about
half that.
Raunak worked with the
nonprofit Vote Absentee Virginia
and state Sen. Scott A. Surovell
(D-Fairfax), who, when he went
door-to-door before the 2015
election, learned that there were a
lot of people who wanted to vote
absentee but were flummoxed by
the online process to get a ballot.
Surovell traveled with an iPad
and helped voters through the
complex process of requesting
absentee ballots. But Raunak and
his friends — as youngsters do —
balked at the clunky interface. His
dad, who is on a business trip to
New York this week, had to get an
absentee ballot, and Raunak
couldn’t believe how retro the site
was when he looked at it.
They had a better idea: Start
over.
So, between July and August,
while most of their friends were
raiding Dusty Divot on Fortnite,
Sumanth and Raunak used
Python, a programming language,
to build an easier, nonpartisan
website to get absentee voters
their ballots — eabsentee.org.
The alum was their marketing
department.
“Robert Greene, who’s a
freshman in college, saw the
chance to get a lot of college
students to vote,” Raunak said. “I
know the youth engagement is
really low.”
Greene helped promote their
tool on campuses across Virginia

DVORAK FROM B1

PETULA DVORAK

After 2017, Virginians should know that

one vote really can change everything

FAMILY PHOTO Sumanth Ratna, 15, left, and Raunak Daga, 16, created a website to streamline the process of applying for an absentee ballot.

have targeted Del. Tim Hugo (R- Fairfax), a member of the GOP leadership and the last Republican House member in Northern Virgin- ia, who faces Dan Helmer. Republicans, meanwhile, fo- cused on unseating several Prince William delegates swept into office two years ago on an anti-Trump wave, including the state’s first two Latina legislators, Hala Ayala and Elizabeth Guzman, and Danica Roem, Virginia’s first transgender elected official. But fundraising in those races has heavily favored Democrats. One of the most competitive House races is a rematch — Del. Wendy Gooditis (D-Clarke) vs. former Republican delegate Randy Minchew. She unseated him in 2017, when Minchew’s own sister-in-law voted against him to demonstrate her disdain for Trump. In the Richmond suburbs, two freshman Republican state sena- tors are trying to fend off Democrat- ic challengers in districts carried by Hillary Clinton in 2016 that have tilted bluer since. Sen. Glen H. Stur- tevant Jr. (R-Richmond) faces Dem- ocrat Ghazala Hashmi, while Sen. Siobhan S. Dunnavant (R-Henrico) is trying to fend off Del. Debra H. Rodman (D-Henrico). The Dunna- vant-Rodman contest is on track to be the state’s most expensive, with Dunnavant raising $2.5 million and Rodman $2.8 million. In a rural-suburban district that has remained red under Trump, Democratic challenger Amanda Pohl hopes to capitalize on a string of election-year controversies sur- rounding freshman Sen. Amanda F. Chase (R-Chesterfield), who wore a gun on her hip on the Senate floor, cussed out a Capitol police officer over a parking space and was ousted from her local GOP committee. But both parties say Chase’s poll numbers rose after the attention. The most prominent House race in the region pits Speaker Kirk Cox (R-Colonial Heights) against Sheila Bynum-Coleman (D). The speaker, the state’s most powerful Republi- can, must compete in a redrawn district. The map swung from heavily favoring Republicans to tilting slightly blue. The symbolic value of the race has helped Bynum-Cole- man nearly keep pace with Cox’s fundraising, $1.4 million to his $1.8 million. Other hard-fought races in the region pit Del. Schuyler T. VanValk- enburg (D-Henrico) against Gay- Donna Vandergriff (R); Democrat Rodney Willett vs. Republican Mary Margaret Kastelberg; and Del. Rox- ann L. Robinson (R-Chesterfield) vs. Democrat Larry Barnett. Two years ago, Barnett lost to Robinson by just 128 votes. In Hampton Roads, the most- watched race is a rerun: Del. David E. Yancey (R-Newport News) faces Democrat Shelly Simonds (D) two years after their 2017 contest result- ed in a tie, which was decided by a random drawing live on national television. Del. Chris Jones (R-Suffolk), chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, is trying to fend off Clinton Jenkins in a redrawn district that heavily favors Democrats. Several Virginia Beach races could be pivotal in determining the balance of power and will test the potency of the gun control issue. Freshman Del. Kelly K. Convirs- Fowler (D-Virginia Beach) is in a tight race in a heavily military district against Republican challenger Shannon Kane; Del. Glenn R. Davis Jr. (R-Virginia Beach) faces Demo- crat Karen Mallard; and Del. Chris- topher P. Stolle (R-Virginia Beach) is running against Democrat Nancy Guy. That area’s two Senate seats are also competitive. Del. Cheryl B. Turpin (D-Virginia Beach) faces Re- publican Jen Kiggins for an open seat vacated by retired senator Frank Wagner (R-Virginia Beach), and Sen. William R. DeSteph Jr. (R-Virginia Beach) is trying to turn back a well-funded challenge by Democrat Missy Cotter Smasal. [email protected] [email protected]

accused by two women of separate sexual assaults in the early 2000s, both of which he denies, and Attor- ney General Mark R. Herring admitted that he, too, had darkened his face for a party in college in 1980. Republicans aimed to depict Democrats as chaotic, scandal-rid- den baby killers, and themselves as pragmatic centrists. On May 31, though, tragedy dis- rupted state politics when a gun- man killed 12 in Virginia Beach. Amid a public outcry for action, Democrats rallied around Northam, who summoned the Gen- eral Assembly to a special legislative session in July to consider gun restrictions. Republicans who control the legislature accused Democrats of cyni- cal politics and adjourned the session after 90 minutes without de- bating a single bill. Instead, they referred all legislation to a state crime commission. That was a risky move for Repub- licans — a recent Washington Post- Schar School poll found that gun policy is the top issue for a majority of Virginia voters. While those voters split evenly among Democrats and Republicans, even bigger majorities said they favor some form of gun control legislation. Polls also consistently showed that most Virginians are happy with the job Northam is doing, defusing the scandal issue for Republicans. The governor’s fundraising has con- tinued to lag behind, but he returned to the campaign trail — albe- it without the usual gubernatorial fly-around in the home stretch. For- mer governor Terry McAuliffe (D) picked up some of the slack, raising money and making campaign ap- pearances. After several other states enacted harsh abortion restrictions, that topic lost some of its potency in Virginia, where suburban voters are leery of encroaching on a woman’s right to choose. Republicans in some districts have tried to revive the late-term abortion issue, hoping to energize their base. The Democratic-driven impeachment effort is also revving up the GOP, some Republicans said. Turnout is the most crucial factor Tuesday. This is an “off-off year,” without statewide or federal races on the ballot to stir up voter interest. Turnout in such years in Virginia is typically very low — usually less than 30 percent. Democrats are hoping that anti-Trump fervor will get their numbers up, as it has done since 2016, and they have cranked up celebrity endorsements for good measure, including visits from ac- tors Alec Baldwin and Kerry Wash- ington. Democrats said they knocked on 2.4 million doors across the state. Republicans declined to disclose their numbers. As Pence rallied Republicans in Virginia Beach over the weekend, Democrats brought former vice president Joe Biden, a 2020 presidential contender, to a rally in Northern Virginia. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont (I-Vt.) was to stump Monday for Del. Lee Carter (D-Manassas), the only self-de- scribed socialist in the legislature. Carter faces a challenge from Re- publican Ian Lovejoy. National Democratic groups pro- moting abortion rights, LGBT rights, gun control and unions dis- patched their national leadership to lead canvassing kickoffs in the final three days. With turnout uncertain and with the new court-ordered boundaries that affect districts around Rich- mond and Hampton Roads, election officials are on guard for possi- ble voter confusion and what could be a number of extremely close races. In Northern Virginia, Democrats see their best pickup opportunity in the state Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Richard H. Black (R-Loudoun), a social conservative who had been able to hang on despite a changing district. Del. John Bell (D-Loudoun) has raised $2.6 million for that open seat, com- pared with $1.4 million by Republi- can Geary Higgins. Democrats also

Beach on Sunday, the Democratic Party of Virginia promoted the ap- pearance. Republicans are defending thin majorities of 20 to 19 in the Senate and 51 to 48 in the House of Dele- gates, with one vacancy in each chamber. If Democrats can take control, they could consolidate power for the first time in 26 years and work with Northam to enact legislation long blocked by Republi- cans. Those include gun control, pro- tections against discrimination based on sexual orientation, a higher minimum wage and passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. As the only former Confederate state that went for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and with its urban and suburban areas becoming increasingly di- verse, Virginia is seen by Democrats as an important place to plant the flag against Trump’s Republican Party. Whoever controls the General Assembly will oversee redistricting after next year’s census — influenc- ing politics for a decade to come. “Proud to endorse an outstand- ing group of Virginia Democrats in Tuesday’s election — candidates who’ll not only advance the causes of equality, justice, and decency, but help ensure that the next decade of voting maps are drawn fairly. That’s good policy — and good for our politics,” former president Barack Obama tweeted. Voters will also decide a host of local races, electing successors to outgoing board of supervisors chairs Sharon Bulova (D-Fairfax) and Corey A. Stewart (R-Prince Wil- liam), among others; choosing supervisors, prosecutors, school board members and sheriffs across the state; and endorsing or rejecting millions in bond issues for schools, transportation and public safety projects. In the state legislative races, ex- pectations are so high that coming up short of a majority in either chamber would raise questions about the Democratic Party’s fitness to take on Trump in 2020. GOP candidates warn that new liberal Democrats are out of step with traditional Virginia values and will ruin the state’s business-friend- ly climate. Many suburban Republi- can candidates have attempted a difficult balancing act, posing al- most like centrist Democrats for much of the summer — including blue campaign signs and literature that emphasized gun safety and health care without mentioning party affiliation — but lashing out against “socialists” in the final weeks. Tuesday’s elections will cap a political year that has obliterated quaint notions of a “Virginia Way” of bipartisan civility. Democrats entered 2019 with tre- mendous momentum after making big gains in contests for the House of Delegates and Congress. After a federal court ruled that several of the state’s House districts had been racially gerrymandered, judges ap- proved an electoral map that re- drew 26 districts — boosting Demo- crats’ chances by shifting six Repub- licans into blue-leaning territory. In late January, though, Demo- cratic legislators and Northam made clumsy comments defending a bill that would have loosened restrictions on late-term abortions. Conservatives across the country erupted with charges of infanticide — something Northam, a pediatric neurologist, called “disgusting.” Days later, a racist photo surfaced from Northam’s 1984 medical school yearbook page, depicting one person in blackface and another in Ku Klux Klan robes. Northam initially took responsibility for the photo, and most in his party called on him to resign. But he quickly disavowed the photo, although he admitted dark- ening his face for a dance contest later that same year, and refused to step down. Within days, the state’s two other top Democrats were also mired in scandal: Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax was

VIRGINIA FROM B1

Election will decide legislative control

BY JENNA PORTNOY

Former NAACP chief and
congressman Kweisi Mfume
said Monday that he will run
for the U.S. House seat most
recently held by his friend
Elijah E. Cummings, who died
last month.
Considered an elder states-
man in Baltimore politics,
Mfume, 71, occupied Mary-
land’s 7th District seat from
1987 to 1996, when he stepped
aside to lead the NAACP. Cum-
mings (D) then ran for the seat
and won.
Mfume’s up-from-the-streets
story is well known in the
district, which includes parts
of Baltimore City as well as
Baltimore and Howard coun-
ties.
He dropped out of high
school, was a teenage father
and turned to crime after his
mother, who raised him in
poverty, died of cancer in his
arms when he was 16.
Inspired by her memory, he
says, he returned to school,
earning degrees from Morgan
State University and later
Johns Hopkins University, and
dedicated his life to civil rights
and public service.
Mfume has said he and Cum-
mings met in the late 1970s,
when Mfume was an activist
and radio commentator, and
hit it off immediately, despite
campaigning for opposing po-
litical factions. They remained

MARYLAND

close friends until Cummings’s death. “Today, we are here without Elijah,” Mfume said, announc- ing his candidacy at the Regi- nald F. Lewis Museum of Mary- land African American History & Culture in downtown Balti- more. “I honestly believe that I’ve got to find a way to make sure that all he and others fought for is not lost, tossed to the side or forgotten.” Mfume was surrounded by his wife, sons and grandchil- dren and the pastor of his church, New Shiloh Baptist. Larry Gibson, a political con- sultant and law professor who mentored Cummings and Mfume, spoke on his behalf. Mfume was elected to the Baltimore City Council at age 31, winning by three votes. He succeeded retiring congressman Parren Mitchell in 1987 and served on Capitol Hill for about a decade, including a stint as chairman of the Con- gressional Black Caucus.

At the NAACP, he was credit- ed with restoring the financial stability of the organization and raising its profile. But he faced accusations of favoritism and romantic relationships with employees. On Monday, Mfume told re- porters that he, a single man at the time, dated a single woman who also worked at the NAACP. He called it a “boneheaded mistake.” Mfume narrowly lost the 2006 Democratic Senate primary to Ben Cardin. Cummings’s widow, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, who chairs the Maryland Democrat- ic Party, said last week that she is seriously considering enter- ing the race as well, as are a host of other Democrats. The filing deadline is Nov. 20. A special primary election will be held Feb. 4, and the special general election will be held April 28, the same day of the 2020 primary. [email protected]

Mfume to seek Cummings’s seat

JULIO CORTEZ/POOL/REUTERS Former congressman Kweisi Mfume speaks during services for Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) last month in Baltimore.

He represented the 7th District previously before leading NAACP

concrete, said Donald R. Huskey, who represented Mims with Gov- ernor Jackson III. “Nicholaus Mims and his wife feel vindicated for the unwar- ranted attack and the emotional trauma that their family suffered on that Father’s Day,” Huskey said of the Oct. 25 verdict. Six Flags denied the claims and, after the lawsuit was filed, said it was without merit. A spokeswoman and an attorney for Six Flags did not immediately respond to requests for comment but indicated earlier to the Daily Record that it would appeal the verdict. “We are going to seek post-trial relief from the courts based on some of the things that happened in the proceedings,” Six Flags attorney David Skomba told the newspaper when it reported on the verdict. Skomba told the Dai- ly Record that the defense thought the presiding judge

made at least one error on an evidentiary matter. Mims, who is black, initially claimed the attack was racially motivated, but that contention was not argued during trial. A judge granted a pretrial request from Six Flags to bar either side from mentioning race to the jury, Huskey said. The judge said ju- rors could come to their own conclusions about race from tes- timony and witnesses on the stand and there was “no need to inflame the jury,” Huskey said. Video and photos that Mims’s wife took on the day of the incident show his face injured. Mims suffered a concussion and continues to recover physically and mentally, Huskey said. “From the stand, he said he needed psychiatric help,” Huskey said. “He said that he talks about it all the time. It has traumatized his family.” [email protected]

which also told him he had to leave, according to the court fil- ings. As Mims said he was trying to wait for his wife to bring him his shirt, a verbal altercation ensued,

and Mims exited the park. When Mims stepped out of the gate, a guard said he was being arrested. Guards pushed Mims to the ground, put him in a chokehold and pushed his head into the

NICHOLAUS MIMS Nicholaus Mims’s lawyer said the assault “traumatized his family.”

BY LYNH BUI

A jury awarded $800,000 in
damages to a Maryland man who
said he was wrongfully beaten by
security guards at a Six Flags on
Father’s Day.
The verdict from a Prince
George’s County jury came after a
civil trial in which Nicholaus

Mims sued the company, saying guards injured him for violating park rules during a June 2018 visit to the theme park in the suburbs of Washington. Mims said he had dashed away from the water area of the park without a shirt in a panic because he couldn’t locate his son. After he found his child, a park employee saw him without a shirt and told him he had to leave for violating park rules, Mims assert- ed in his lawsuit. Mims tried to explain that he had been looking for his missing child and that his wife had his shirt with her, but the employee called security,

MARYLAND

$800,000 jury award

in Six Flags assault suit

Man says guards held him down, beat him; park plans to appeal

The Washington Post - 05.11.2019

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