Virginia lawmakers back redrawing congressional maps, paving the way for a voter referendum

Virginia’s Senate has approved a constitutional amendment that would allow for congressional redistricting in the middle of the decade, marking the latest development in an ongoing national battle over district maps that could significantly impact control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Democrat-controlled Virginia Senate voted along party lines on Friday to advance the measure, following a similar vote earlier in the week by the state’s House of Delegates. If approved by voters in a referendum likely to be held in April, the amendment would permit a redrawing of Virginia’s congressional districts in a way that could favor Democrats.

While the proposed map has not yet been publicly released, Democratic legislators have promised voters will see it before casting their ballots on the referendum. “Because this is a Virginian-led process and we’re asking for their permission, voters will be able to see the maps prior to their vote,” said Democratic Delegate Cia Price.

The move represents Virginia’s entry into what has become a nationwide redistricting tussle sparked by former President Donald Trump, who last year encouraged Republicans in Texas to create more favorable districts. Since then, several Republican-controlled states have approved new congressional maps benefiting their party, while Democratic-led states have responded with their own redrawn districts.

Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Ohio have all enacted more Republican-friendly House maps. Meanwhile, California voters approved new districts benefiting Democrats, and a Utah judge adopted a new map advantageous to the Democratic Party.

The redistricting battle thus far has resulted in nine more seats Republicans believe they can win and six more seats Democrats think they can secure, giving Republicans a net advantage of three seats. However, redistricting efforts are still being litigated in several states, and there’s no guarantee that either party will win all the seats they’ve redrawn.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell defended Virginia Democrats’ push for redistricting, arguing that when Republican-led states “rig elections in their favor, our commitment to fairness that we made — that our voters made — effectively becomes unilateral disarmament.”

Virginia Republicans have criticized the Democrats’ redistricting efforts, contending that gerrymandering isn’t the solution. Republican Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle pointed to Indiana, where Republicans recently rejected a partisan redistricting plan, saying, “Republicans in Indiana stood up to political pressure and said, ‘We’re not going to play these political games.’ And they stopped.”

The redistricting resolution has sparked intense debate in Virginia, particularly given the state’s recent history of pursuing fair maps. In 2020, Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment aimed at ending legislative gerrymandering through the creation of a bipartisan redistricting commission. However, that commission failed to agree on a map after the census, leading to court-imposed boundaries.

Currently, Virginia is represented in the U.S. House by six Democrats and five Republicans. The proposed amendment, if approved by voters, would only remain in effect until 2030 and contains trigger language allowing Virginia legislators to redraw congressional maps only if other states take similar action.

Democratic Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger has backed the redistricting effort but hasn’t committed to any specific plan. “Ultimately, it’s up to the people of Virginia to choose whether or not to move forward with the referendum,” she said.

Not all states are participating in the redistricting battle. Leading Republicans in Kansas indicated this week that they don’t expect the GOP-supermajority legislature to consider redistricting this year due to insufficient support in the House. The outcome remains uncertain in other states, including Republican-leaning Florida and Democratic-led Illinois and Maryland.

Meanwhile, in North Carolina, remaining portions of lawsuits filed by the state NAACP and others seeking to overturn the state’s latest U.S. House map were being dismissed on Friday, according to court documents. A three-judge panel had previously refused to block the use of the new boundaries, which were designed to flip a seat to Republicans, for the 2026 elections.