The Virginia House on Wednesday passed legislation (HJ 4) to impose limited power to redraw congressional districts before the 2026 Midterms.
The matter now heads to the Senate. Democrats control both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly. Should the measure pass, a Special Election would be scheduled in April, when voters statewide would decide whether to allow redistricting this year.
Virginia voters in 2020 approved a constitutional amendment giving redistricting responsibilities to a nonpartisan commission, made up of half Assembly members and half citizens.
It is expected such a redraw of cartography would allow Democrats to gain seats in the state’s congressional delegation. National Democrats argued that’s necessary to counter similar gerrymandering efforts in GOP-controlled states such as Texas, North Carolina and, potentially soon, Florida.
On the opening day of the Legislative Session in Virginia, the House voted 62-33 to move forward with redistricting.
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) cheered Virginia lawmakers for taking a step toward mid-decade redistricting.
“Virginia House Democrats just took essential action to safeguard our democracy and push back against Republicans’ power grabs,” DLCC President Heather Williams said.
Democratic lawmakers said the move was warranted to counteract President Donald Trump’s national redistricting push.
“I introduced and the General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment giving Virginia the option to redistrict our congressional map in exceptional circumstances,” said Del. Rodney Willett, the measure’s sponsor, on X. “It’s an important step to protect our democracy.”
Virginia’s current U.S. House delegation is made up of 11 members, six Democrats and five Republicans.
Democracy Docket, a voting rights site run by Democratic election attorney Marc Elias, predicted the new map could net as many as four new congressional seats.
Five GOP members last year held a joint press conference opposing any mid-decade redistricting in the state, as reported by WVTF.
“This is about overturning the election results of 2020; pure and simple,” said U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, a Montross Republican. “They want to deny the voter’s desires to have a bipartisan redistricting commission.”
