2026 Virginia redistricting amendment

2026 Virginia redistricting amendment
April 21, 2026[1]
2026 Virginia redistricting amendment

See also: 2025–2026 United States redistricting

The 2026 Virginia redistricting amendment is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that will appear on the April 21, 2026, ballot in the state of Virginia. If passed, the state legislature would temporarily regain the power to draw the state's congressional districts, which are currently drawn by a bipartisan commission. If approved, the authority to draw congressional districts would revert to the commission following the 2030 census. The amendment, which is part of a larger, nationwide gerrymandering battle, was first considered by Virginia lawmakers in October 2025, and was given preliminary approval on October 31. As required, the Virginia General Assembly passed the amendment a second time on January 16, 2026.

On January 27, 2026, a Virginia judge ruled the amendment to be unlawful, blocking it from appearing on the April ballot. However, Virginia Democrats appealed the decision, and on February 13, the Virginia Supreme Court allowed the referendum to proceed as scheduled.[2] On February 19, following the Virginia Supreme Court ruling, a Virginia judge ruled the amendment to be unlawful on grounds unrelated to the original ruling and unrelated to the ruling of the Virginia Supreme Court, once again blocking the proposed amendment from appearing on the April ballot.[3] On March 2, a court ruled that the election can still take place and legal battles will be resolved after the election.[4] Early voting began on March 6, 2026 and is scheduled to end on April 18, 2026.[5][6]

If voters approve the referendum in April, the new maps will be used for the 2026 elections, as well as in 2028 and 2030.[7]

Timeline

First passage

Main article: 163rd Virginia General Assembly

In 2025, Texas lawmakers adopted a new congressional map, which is expected to grant Republicans as many as five additional congressional seats.[8] Other states followed suit with their own redistricting plans.[9][10]

On October 23, 2025, The New York Times reported that Virginia was planning a constitutional amendment to allow for redistricting,[11] with the newspaper being the first to report it.[9]

In Virginia, constitutional amendments have to be approved by the legislature in two consecutive legislative sessions, with a general election in between them, prior to being sent to the public for final passage. On October 24, House Majority Leader Charniele Herring introduced a resolution that would allow the Virginia General Assembly to consider constitutional amendments related to redistricting during a special session.[12] On October 27, the resolution was agreed to by the House of Delegates in a 50 to 42 vote, and on October 29, the state Senate agreed to it in a 21 to 17 vote.[13]

On October 28, four Democratic Virginia Delegates introduced the constitutional amendment.[14] On the same day, Jason Miyares, the Republican Attorney General of Virginia who was also running for a second term in 2025, issued an opinion saying that the process required to add a constitutional amendment to the ballot cannot be shortened by the General Assembly calling a special session during an ongoing election.[15]

On October 29, the Virginia House of Delegates passed the amendment in a 51 to 42 vote on party lines. Before the vote took place, there was contentious debate, and the Sergeant-at-Arms was called to the floor at one point. The bill then moved on to the Senate Privileges & Elections Committee, which approved the bill in an 8 to 6 vote the same day.[16] The Senate passed the bill 21-16 on October 31, sending it to the 164th General Assembly for further consideration.[17]

Second passage

Main article: 164th Virginia General Assembly

Democrats retained and expanded their majority in the House of Delegates in the 2025 election, in addition to flipping all three executive offices. Upon winning the trifecta, the Democratic legislative caucuses intended to re-approve the amendment and send it to a Spring 2026 referendum for consideration. Upon approval of the referendum, the amendment and approved map would take effect prior to the 2026 congressional elections.[18] As the amendment needed to be passed a second time,[18] the Senate, on January 16, 2026, passed the constitutional amendment, following the House of Delegates which had done so earlier in the week.[19] Governor Spanberger signed the enabling legislation on February 4.[7]

Litigation

A lawsuit was filed in Tazewell County Circuit Court against the House and Senate clerks, seeking an injunction against the effort. The lawsuit argued that the purpose of the special session was to settle a budget dispute in 2024, and although the session was still technically open, the new bill was outside of the scope of the session, making it invalid. Delegate Terry Kilgore, state Senators Bill Stanley and Ryan McDougle, and a citizen member of the commonwealth's bipartisan redistricting commission were named as plaintiffs. The lawsuit was initially delayed, as the case's judge, Jack Hurley Jr., declined to intervene in legislative proceedings until the General Assembly had passed the amendment, resulting in Republican plaintiffs temporarily dropping the case.[20][21] Judge Hurley ran for the Virginia House of Delegates in 1999 as a Republican.[22]

Following the General Assembly's re-passage of the amendment to the ballot in January 2026, the case was expanded to request a ruling on all of the following:

  1. Whether or not the General Assembly was able to pass a constitutional amendment during a special session not called to consider it;
  2. Whether or not the General Assembly had violated a statutory mandate which requires it to post any proposed constitutional amendment at circuit clerk offices for public inspection at least 90 days before the election on which it would be voted on;
  3. Whether or not the General Assembly's first passage had actually met the requirement to pass the amendment both before and after a general election, as early voting had started over a month prior.[23][24]

Hurley ordered both parties to submit briefs within 10 days.

On January 27, Hurley ruled that the amendment was unlawful, concurring both that the special session did not have the authority to pass such a measure and that the House of Delegates scheduled the election too early to satisfy the postage requirement.[25][26] Hurley noted that, by the time of the 163rd Virginia General Assembly's passage of the redistricting amendment, over 1 million Virginians had already voted for the general election, over 33% of total turnout. For this, he agreed on the third and final question posed by the Republican plaintiffs, that being that the amendment did not sufficiently pass scrutiny for having been passed "before the general election."[10] The ruling blocked the amendment from going before voters.[27]

Virginia Democratic leaders condemned the decision and announced an intention to appeal the ruling, with House Speaker Don Scott calling the case an example of “court-shopping, plain and simple."[28] They also pointed out that the postage requirement was removed whenever Virginia adopted their current constitution, and is only still in effect because of an oversight in the state code.[22] Later that day, the Virginia Senate passed SB769 (2026),[29] which would repeal the 90-day postage requirement before the election and redirect the appellate process from the Court of Appeals of Virginia to the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond, which denied to block the 163rd General Assembly from passing the same amendment in November 2025.[30] This measure must be passed in the House of Delegates and signed by Governor Spanberger by February 19.[19]

On February 13, the Supreme Court of Virginia allowed the special election to approve the new maps to proceed as they consider the case.[31] On February 18, the Republican National Committee filed a separate lawsuit, also in Tazewell county, asking for an emergency injunction to halt voting.[32] The next day, February 19, Judge Hurley granted that motion, barring state officials from "administering, preparing for, taking any action to further the procedure of the referendum, or otherwise moving forward with causing an election to be held on the proposed constitutional amendment."[33] On March 4, the Virginia Supreme Court stayed that ruling, allowing early voting to begin on March 6.[34]

Contents and amendment

Ballot wording

The ballot wording is as follows:[35]

Question: Should the Constitution of Virginia be amended to allow the General Assembly to temporarily adopt new congressional districts to restore fairness in the upcoming elections, while ensuring Virginia's standard redistricting process resumes for all future redistricting after the 2030 census?

Proposed changes

The proposed amendment seeks to amend the constitution to read:[16]

ARTICLE II

FRANCHISE AND OFFICERS

Section 6. Apportionment.

Members of the House of Representatives of the United States and members of the Senate and of the House of Delegates of the General Assembly shall be elected from electoral districts established pursuant to this section and Section 6-A of this Constitution. Every electoral district shall be composed of contiguous and compact territory and shall be so constituted as to give, as nearly as is practicable, representation in proportion to the population of the district. Every electoral district shall be drawn in accordance with the requirements of federal and state laws that address racial and ethnic fairness, including the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, and judicial decisions interpreting such laws. Districts shall provide, where practicable, opportunities for racial and ethnic communities to elect candidates of their choice. The Commonwealth shall be reapportioned into electoral districts in accordance with this section and Section 6-A in the year 2021 and every ten years thereafter, except that the General Assembly shall be authorized to modify one or more congressional districts at any point following the adoption of a decennial reapportionment law, but prior to the next decennial census, in the event that any State of the United States of America conducts a redistricting of such state's congressional districts at any point following that state's adoption of a decennial reapportionment law for any purpose other than (i) the completion of the state's decennial redistricting in response to a federal census and reapportionment mandated by the Constitution of the United States and established in federal law or (ii) as ordered by any state or federal court to remedy an unlawful or unconstitutional district map. Any such decennial reapportionment law, or reapportionment law modifying one or more congressional districts, shall take effect immediately and not be subject to the limitations contained in Article IV, Section 13, of this Constitution. The districts delineated in the decennial any reapportionment law shall be implemented for the November general election for the United States House of Representatives, Senate, or House of Delegates, respectively, that is held immediately prior to the expiration of the term being served in the year that the reapportionment law is required to be enacted. A member in office at the time that a decennial redistricting law is enacted shall complete his term of office and shall continue to represent the district from which he was elected for the duration of such term of office so long as he does not move his residence from the district from which he was elected. Any vacancy occurring during such term shall be filled from the same district that elected the member whose vacancy is being filled.

SCHEDULE

Section 6. Application and duration of certain redistricting amendments.

The authorization in Article II, Section 6 authorizing the General Assembly to modify one or more congressional districts at any point following adoption of a decennial reapportionment law in the event that any State of the United States of America conducts a redistricting of such state's congressional districts at any point following that state's adoption of a decennial reapportionment law shall be limited to making such modifications between January 1, 2025, and October 31, 2030, in response to actions taken by another state between January 1, 2025, and October 31, 2030.

Endorsements

Yes
Executive branch officials
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives
Statewide officials
State legislators
Individuals
Organizations
No
Executive branch officials
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives
Statewide officials
State legislators
Organizations
Government bodies
Political parties

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Margin
of error 		Phrasing Support Oppose Undecided
Roanoke College[69][70] February 9–16, 2026 800 (A) ± 4.4% The General Assembly passed an amendment to the Virginia Constitution allowing them to do mid-decade redistricting and approved a new map which is thought to favor Democrats in 10 of the 11 congressional districts in Virginia. A special election must be held for voters to approve the amendment before any mid-decade redistricting can take effect. If you had to decide today, would you vote to approve the amendment to allow mid-decade redistricting, or keep the current process as it is now? 44% 52% 4%
Christopher Newport University[71] January 13–20, 2026 807 (RV) ± 4.4% As you may know, a constitutional amendment is being considered by the General Assembly to temporarily change when Virginia's congressional districts can be redrawn. This amendment is being considered in response to other states that are redrawing districts outside of the normal 10-year census cycle, and would allow the General Assembly to redraw congressional maps between 2026 and 2030. If passed, the proposed amendment would go on a statewide ballot for voters to ultimately decide. Would you support or oppose this redistricting constitutional amendment? 51% 43% 7%

Results

Redistricting Amendment results
Choice Votes %
Result not yet known
Total votes — 100.00

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

References

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  2. ^ Timm, Jane C. (February 13, 2026). "Virginia Supreme Court allows redistricting special election to move forward". NBC News. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  3. ^ Diaz, Olivia (February 20, 2026). "Virginia judge blocks Democrats' referendum, a blow to redistricting effort over 4 U.S. House seats". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 23, 2026. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
  4. ^ Rice, Jen (April 21, 2026). "Virginia redistricting election can move forward, court rules". Democracy Docket. Retrieved March 3, 2026.
  5. ^ "Early voting is underway for the April 21 Virginia redistricting referendum". The Virginia Independent. March 6, 2026. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
  6. ^ This, Share; Facebook, Share on; X, share on; Threads, Share on; Linkedin, Share on; Email, Share on; Print (March 17, 2026). "Virginia voter guide: Ballot asks voters about Democratic effort to redraw congressional map". WTOP News. Retrieved March 18, 2026. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  7. ^ a b Beyer, Elizabeth (February 7, 2026). "Gov. Spanberger signs bill to enable redistricting referendum". Cardinal News. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  8. ^ "Texas House Republicans unveil new congressional map that looks to pick up five GOP seats". The Texas Tribune. July 30, 2025. Archived from the original on October 2, 2025. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
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  13. ^ "HJ6006 General Assembly; relating to the scope of business that may come before the 2024 Special Session I." Retrieved October 30, 2025.
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  19. ^ a b Beyer, Elizabeth (January 27, 2026). "Virginia's congressional redistricting effort on hold after Tazewell court ruling". Cardinal News. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
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  21. ^ Larsen, Patrick (October 29, 2025). "Tazewell judge denies injunction against GA redistricting effort". VPM. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
  22. ^ a b Poole, David M. (January 29, 2026). "Tazewell County judge sped up redistricting ruling to beat General Assembly vote to move the case". Cardinal News. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  23. ^ vascope (January 22, 2026). "Redistricting update: Both sides have 10 days to prepare briefs for Tazewell judge". Virginia Scope. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  24. ^ lowkell (January 24, 2026). "Analysis by Sam Shirazi on VA GOP's Attempts to Kill the Redistricting Amendment in the Courts: If VA Supreme Court "rule[s] for the Republicans, that would be a pretty big shocker"". Blue Virginia. Retrieved January 24, 2026.
  25. ^ Diaz, Olivia; Witte, Brian (January 27, 2026). "Judge finds Virginia Democrats' redistricting resolution illegal; Gov. Moore backs map in Maryland". Associated Press. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
  26. ^ Howard, Andrew; Booker, Brakkton (January 27, 2026). "Virginia state court blocks Democrats' redistricting push". Politico. Axel Springer SE. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
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  28. ^ https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/virginia-court-strikes-down-redistricting-amendment-headed-april-ballot#:~:text=Democrats%20blast%20ruling%2C%20promise%20to,the%20ruling%20could%20mislead%20voters.
  29. ^ https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20261/SB769
  30. ^ Square, Shirleen Guerra | The Center (November 4, 2025). "Court denies attempt to block redistricting plan". FauquierNow. Retrieved January 30, 2026.
  31. ^ "Virginia Supreme Court allows redistricting special election to move forward". NBC News. February 13, 2026. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  32. ^ "RNC moves to block Virginia vote aimed at countering Trump gerrymanders". Democracy Docket. February 18, 2026. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  33. ^ "Virginia judge blocks vote on Democrats' redistricting referendum". Democracy Docket. February 19, 2026. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  34. ^ Schmidt, Markus (March 5, 2026). "Early voting begins Friday for Virginia redistricting referendum • Virginia Mercury". Virginia Mercury. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  35. ^ "Commonwealth of Virginia, Sample Ballot" (PDF). Fairfax County. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
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  64. ^ Bordelon, Lyra. "Virginia supervisors oppose splitting their county into 3 districts". The Progress Index. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  65. ^ "Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors Adopts Resolution Opposing Redistricting". WBTM 102.5. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  66. ^ Russo, Michael (February 26, 2026). "Rockingham Co. Board of Supervisors opposes redistricting in new resolution". WHSV. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  67. ^ Little, Faith; Offutt, Ethan. "Washington Co. Board of Supervisors formally opposes congressional redistricting in Virginia". WJHL. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  68. ^ "Official Statement". Facebook. Retrieved March 20, 2026.
  69. ^ "Virginians support tougher gun laws but doubt the impact; Majority also prefers current redistricting method". Roanoke College. February 23, 2026. Archived from the original on February 23, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026. On the redistricting issue that seems to be headed to a referendum, Virginians generally prefer the current system. Still, given the partisan ramifications and the Democratic-inspired wording of the question 'to restore fairness' to elections, this may not be indicative of the outcome.
  70. ^ "Roanoke College Poll" (PDF). Roanoke College. February 23, 2026. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 23, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026. If you had to decide today, would you vote to approve the amendment to allow mid-decade redistricting, or keep the current process as it is now?
  71. ^ "Virginians Show High Levels of Support for: Amendments to State Constitution on Reproductive Rights, and Felon Re-enfranchisement; Retail Marijuana Sale; Limits on Data Centers; $15 per hour Minimum Wage; Paid Sick Leave; Paid Family and Medical Leave". Christopher Newport University. January 28, 2026. Archived from the original on January 28, 2026. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
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