“Sic Semper Tyrannis!” This is the Latin motto that translates, “Thus Always to Tyrants,” that appears on the state flag of Virginia, and it could not be more apropos as a rallying cry for the special statewide election that commences with early voting this Friday (see story, Page 1).

The motto was adopted by the Commonwealth of Virginia way back in 1776 as a rallying cry for the American revolution as proposed by George Mason to the Virginia legislature then. It is usually attributed to the cry by Marcus Brutus as he plunged a deadly dagger into Julius Caesar in ancient Rome, as memorialized in Shakespeare’s play about Caesar.

The statewide referendum would, if “Yes” votes prevail, permit a temporary redistricting of Virginia’s 11 U.S. congressional districts to offset the same kind of moves ordered by President Trump for predominantly Republican-controlled states from Texas to Florida. If it passed in Virginia and effectively nullified Trump’s move to fix this November’s midterm elections, it would, indeed, be like Virginians sticking a dagger into the tyrant Trump.

We suggest that voters should think of it that way when they go in to cast their ballots between this Friday and April 21.

True, that Virtus, the goddess of virtue, who stands atop a slain tyrant in the image that accompanies the state motto on the flag of Virginia, is holding a long spear in one hand, and a sheathed sword in her other. Still, the dagger notion can apply. After all, Virtus is a mighty warrior, a precursor representation of the virtue and might of women as we note during this Women’s History Month. The flattened tyrant, on the other hand, is shown with his crown having toppled off his head.

We are heartened by the electoral returns of U.S. citizens since Trump was returned to the White House just over a year ago, a year of unprecedented gains for Democratic lawmakers that began almost immediately, and was surely reflected in Virginia last November when all three statewide offices were flipped from Red to Blue, from Republican to Democratic, and the majority for Democrats in the House of Delegates was considerably expanded.

Of the many special elections in the recent period that have shown formerly Republican districts flipping to Democrats all across the U.S., none can be considered more important than this week’s U.S. Senate primary election in Texas, where it was not just that State Sen. James Talerico defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Democratic primary, but that the voter turnout was so unprecedentedly high for such an election, with way more voters turning out for the Democratic primary than for the Republican one held the same day.

Winning the “Yes” votes in this current Virginia special election is a key to retaking the nation for sanity and democracy, a true electoral dagger into the heart of our current tyrant.