Virginia advances redistricting plan to counter GOP gerrymanders, as Senate sends measure to voters

The Virginia Senate passed a constitutional amendment Friday that would allow lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional districts.

If approved by a majority of voters, the measure would let lawmakers draw a new map that could give Democrats as many as four new seats, helping to counter GOP gerrymanders in other states.

The Senate approved the amendment by a vote of 21–18, after the measure sailed through the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee and passed the House of Delegates Wednesday.

If approved by voters, the amendment would temporarily allow the General Assembly to redraw congressional districts through 2030.

Democrats backing the proposal have said the change is a direct response to President Donald Trump’s push for Republican-controlled states to redraw congressional maps outside the normal census cycle in an effort to secure a GOP House majority ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. With the U.S. House narrowly divided, they argue that inaction would allow partisan gerrymanders elsewhere to distort national representation.

“Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy, and right now across the country that foundation is under attack,” Scott Surovell (D), Senate majority leader, said during the vote hearing. “The actions of other states have forced us to confront the reality that when MAGA-controlled states engage in unprecedented mid-decade redistricting to rig elections in their favor, our commitment to fairness becomes unilateral disarmament.”

Democratic leaders have increasingly indicated that they intend to pursue a congressional map that would leave Republicans with just one of Virginia’s 11 U.S. House seats. Currently, the GOP holds five of the state’s seats while Democrats hold six.

Democrats are expected to release draft or conceptual maps by the end of the month.

With legislative approval complete, the General Assembly is expected to schedule a statewide referendum, likely in April. Voters will decide whether to grant lawmakers the temporary authority to redraw the state’s congressional maps in an effort to restore fair representation on a national scale.

On Thursday, backers of the amendment released their first advertisement for it, saying the measure “gives Virginians the power to level the playing field” in response to Trump’s gerrymanders.