The Virginia Senate passed a constitutional amendment on Friday that would allow the state to temporarily draw new congressional lines ahead of the next U.S. Census as Democrats look to counter Republicans’ redistricting efforts across the country.
The constitutional amendment, which passed the upper chamber on a 21-16 vote, would allow Old Dominion to do mid-decade redistricting if another state redraws their House map first before the end of the decade. The amendment would only give Democrats a limited window to do mid-decade redistricting — they’d only be allowed to redraw their maps until Oct. 31, 2030.
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Virginia Democrats in the House of Delegates passed the constitutional amendment on Wednesday.
The party has to pass the amendment in the state legislature one more time before it can be teed up before the public for a vote. The goal for Democrats is to pass it early next year before there’s a statewide vote over the amendment, potentially in the spring or summer, before the 2026 midterms.
Virginia Democrats are racing to redraw their House map before next year’s elections as the party looks to neutralize the gains Republicans are expected to make in states like Texas and Missouri, where the GOP has also redrawn its maps following pressure from the White House and national Republicans.
The House represents Democrats’ best chance at flipping a chamber of Congress next year, which could thwart President Trump’s ability to carry out more of his agenda in the last two years of his term.
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Republicans are fighting to block new maps from moving forward in the state. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) issued an opinion this week stating that Democrats wouldn’t be able to put a redistricting constitutional amendment before voters until after the 2026 elections.
Meanwhile, top GOP leaders filed a lawsuit arguing the House of Delegates didn’t have constitutional authority to redistrict and took issue with how Democrats convened over the issue. A judge has declined their request to temporarily block Democrats from moving forward with their constitutional amendment as the court hears the merits of the case, but a hearing for a declaratory judgement trial has been set.
