Virginia's ballot measures don't come from nowhere. They reflect a broader political movement now reshaping the Democratic Party — one that has published exactly what it wants. So we'll let it speak for itself. Every quote below is taken directly from its own platform.
It would be easy to exaggerate. We're not going to. Everything on this page is drawn word-for-word from the Democratic Socialists of America's own materials — chiefly its 2026 national program, "Workers Deserve More," published in July 2026 — along with its constitution and official convention resolutions. Read them yourself; the links are at the bottom of this page.
Democratic socialists don't run on a separate ballot line. They run as Democrats, win Democratic primaries, and govern as Democrats — and in 2025 and 2026 they've been winning.
Sitting U.S. Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) are dues-paying members of the DSA — elected, and serving, as Democrats.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, elected in 2025, is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
In June 2026, DSA-backed candidates defeated sitting Democratic congressmen in New York primaries — including DSA members Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, who won running as Democrats.
All three constitutional amendments — HJ1, HJ9, and HJ2 — passed the General Assembly on near-party-line Democratic votes, with virtually no Republican support.
Three areas where this agenda points in a very different direction than most Virginians. On the left, their published position. On the right, the view it's fighting against — and how each connects to your ballot.
The platform reframes long-held religious convictions about marriage, life, and family as oppression to be dismantled — and guarantees, at public expense, exactly the practices many people of faith cannot in conscience support.
End policies that oppress bodily autonomy and intimate life, including "patriarchal restrictions on abortion, childbirth and childraising, gender expression and transition, marriage, and divorce." — DSA 2026 Program, "Feminism For All"
Guarantee universal healthcare "including complete access to reproductive and gender-affirming care." — DSA 2026 Program, "Healthcare For All"
For millions of Virginians, marriage, the sanctity of life, and how children are raised aren't "patriarchal restrictions" — they are matters of faith and conscience protected by the First Amendment.
Religious liberty means the freedom to live and run a business according to those beliefs without being fined, sued, or forced to fund or facilitate what your faith forbids.
Public safety, secure borders, private property, the rule of law — the platform takes direct aim at all four, in language that leaves little to interpretation.
Redirect police funding "as steps towards fully abolishing the police and prison system," and "End qualified immunity." — DSA 2026 Program, "End Mass Incarceration and Police Immunity"
"End ICE detention and deportations… Legalize migration, grant amnesty for all immigrants regardless of status… and end visa caps and quotas." — DSA 2026 Program, "Abolish ICE"
Support the "uninhibited transnational free movement of people" and the "abolition of ICE and CBP without replacement." — DSA 2019 National Convention, "Open Borders" resolution
"Establish public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries." — DSA 2026 Program, "Economic Democracy"
Communities are kept safe by police, courts, and consequences — not by abolishing them. Ending qualified immunity and defunding departments "toward zero" leaves ordinary families least protected.
A nation has the right to secure its borders and decide who enters. Open borders and abolishing immigration enforcement aren't compassion — they're the end of the rule of law at the border.
Freedom rests on private property and free enterprise. Government "ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries" puts your livelihood under political control.
This is the part that should stop every Virginian cold. The stated goal isn't to work within the constitutional order — it's to replace it. And permanent constitutional change is exactly what's on your ballot.
"We are workers fighting to transform society: to win the battle for democracy, draft a new constitution, and create a democratic socialist republic." — DSA 2026 Program, "Our Perspective"
"Abolish the Electoral College. Replace the President and Supreme Court with an executive and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress." — DSA 2026 Program, "A Real Democracy"
"Replace the two-party system… and abolish the Senate." — DSA 2026 Program, "A Democratic Congress"
"Complete victory will require building a new society from the ground up." — DSA 2026 Program, "Our Perspective"
America's constitutional republic — separation of powers, an independent judiciary, the Electoral College, the Senate — exists to restrain power, not concentrate it.
A movement openly committed to drafting a "new constitution" and folding the courts and the presidency under Congress is a movement against the checks that protect every citizen.
Constitutions should be amended rarely, carefully, and with broad consensus — not rewritten to lock in one faction's agenda.
Their published position, side by side with the view most Virginians hold. Every left-column entry is quoted or paraphrased directly from the sources listed below.
| Issue | The Platform's Position | The Traditional View |
|---|---|---|
| Policing | "Fully abolishing the police and prison system"; end qualified immunity. | Fund and reform police; hold officers accountable without dismantling public safety. |
| Borders | Abolish ICE, end all deportations, amnesty regardless of status, "free movement of people." | Secure borders and enforce immigration law; legal, orderly immigration. |
| Economy | "Public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries"; aggressive wealth taxes. | Free enterprise, private property, and competitive markets. |
| Faith & Family | End "patriarchal restrictions" on abortion, marriage, and gender transition; public funding for all. | Protect religious liberty and the conscience rights of people of faith. |
| Voting | Restore the vote to people with criminal convictions — including the currently incarcerated. | Restore rights after a full sentence, with a role for review. |
| The Constitution | "Draft a new constitution"; abolish the Senate and Electoral College; subordinate the courts to Congress. | Preserve the constitutional republic, separation of powers, and checks and balances. |
Constitutional amendments cannot be undone. This November, your vote is the only check that remains. Read the amendments, then vote NO on all three.
Don't take our word for it. Every quotation on this page comes from these primary and news sources. We encourage you to read them in full.