Virginia

Verizon powers digital government for the Commonwealth of Virginia

Published

2 years ago

on

April 9, 2024

By

Press Room

Verizon powers digital government for the Commonwealth of Virginia

RICHMOND, VA – Verizon, a leading provider of communication and technology solutions, has successfully implemented Managed Software Defined Wide Area Networking (SD WAN) to about 1,000 sites for the Commonwealth of Virginia. This milestone accomplishment is a result of the partnership between Verizon and the Commonwealth, where the focus is on further enabling digital government through enhanced network performance.

To satisfy Virginia’s top information technology (IT) modernization priorities — improvement of network performance and the expansion of capacity — Bob Osmond, Commonwealth Chief Information Officer, engaged Verizon to deploy a reliable and innovative solution. That solution turned out to be Managed SD WAN, powered by Cisco.

“As one of the Governor’s Day One priorities, we recognized that we had to transform our network to ensure that agencies have the connectivity they need to digitize and modernize,” said Osmond, “our core infrastructure services that provide messaging, data centers, end user devices, cybersecurity and network are all being aggressively improved for the benefit of Virginia’s executive branch agencies and our Virginia residents and constituents.”

Verizon’s Managed SD WAN services provide an application-driven, agile and secure hybrid network. Supported by Verizon’s team of managed service experts, this solution eases the workload of government agencies and enhances business growth. SD WAN also allows government agencies and other organizations to offload Internet-bound traffic, which means private WAN services remain available for real-time and mission-critical applications. This added flexibility helps improve traffic flow and reduces pressure on a network. SD WAN platforms create hybrid networks that integrate broadband or other network services into the Private WAN.

Managed SD WAN offers several key benefits to the Commonwealth of Virginia, including:

Enhanced network performance: The implementation of Managed SD WAN improves network performance, allowing government agencies to operate more efficiently and securely.
Expanded capacity: With nearly 1,000 agency locations now equipped with Managed SD WAN, the Commonwealth has significantly expanded its network capacity, enabling seamless communication and collaboration across various government entities.
Application-driven network: Managed SD WAN enables an application-driven network, ensuring that critical government applications receive the necessary resources and priority, optimizing overall performance.
Agile and secure hybrid network: The solution provides an agile and secure hybrid network, combining the benefits of both public and private networks. This allows government agencies to leverage the power of cloud services while maintaining the highest level of security.

“We are thrilled to partner with the Commonwealth of Virginia, and applaud them for prioritizing modernization efforts,” said Patty Roze, Vice President for Public Sector (State, Local and Education) at Verizon. “These upgrades will deliver improved network performance, enhanced capacity and greater operational agility. The Commonwealth and its agencies will function more efficiently and the services it provides its citizens will be greatly enhanced.”

Please visit our website for more information on Managed SD WAN and other Verizon Public Sector solutions.

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Virginia

Virginia Supreme Court voids voter-approved redistricting referendum

Published

5 hours ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

Press Room

Virginia Supreme Court voids voter-approved redistricting referendum

On May 8, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled that the General Assembly violated the state constitution when it tried to redraw congressional districts, nullifying the results of the April election in which Virginians narrowly approved redistricting.

Electoral maps are usually redrawn once every 10 years, but multiple states began redrawing them early after President Donald Trump urged Republicans to redraw district lines to ensure more favorable results for the party in the November 2026 elections.

This started a nationwide political battle for control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Texas was the first of several states to redraw districts favoring Republicans, and Virginia Democrats had proposed a constitutional amendment to allow redistricting in order to favor Democrats.

As of May 8, Republicans had initiated redistricting efforts in eight states; Democrats had led redistricting efforts in three states, including Virginia, the Washington Post reported.

In April, Virginia voters supported the redistricting amendment with 51.7% voting for it out of more than 3 million ballots cast. It could have given Democrats up to four extra seats in the U.S. House, according to the Washington Post (subscription required).

But the Virginia Supreme Court, in a 4-3 ruling, found that there were procedural errors in how the Democratic legislature handled the process, nullifying the election results.

The Virginia Constitution says that proposed constitutional amendments must pass in the General Assembly twice before the public can vote on them: once before an election of the House of Delegates, and again after an election. According to the Virginia Supreme Court majority opinion written by Justice D. Arthur Kelsey, early voting for the general election had already been open for six weeks when the General Assembly cast its first vote on the amendment in October 2025, with more than 1.3 million voters having already cast their ballots.

“This violation irreparably undermines the integrity of the resulting referendum vote and renders it null and void,” the court majority opinion stated.

The court’s ruling means the state reverts to the old district maps adopted in 2021. Based on those maps, Virginia voters elected six Democrats and five Republicans to the U.S. House.

Following the court’s ruling, some Virginia Democrats who planned to run for the U.S. House told the New York Times that they have to abandon their campaigns, while others, such as Tom Perriello who is running for the 5th District, face much more difficult campaigns.

Virginia Democrats on Friday asked the court to pause the nullification of the referendum results while they prepare their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to VPM.

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