RICHMOND, Va. — Early voting is now open in Virginia on a proposed constitutional amendment that would give state lawmakers the power to redraw Virginia's 11 congressional districts — a question that has sparked months of debate, legal challenges, and deep divisions among voters.
The 45-day early voting period began Friday.
The single question on the ballot asks:
"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?"
Virginia's current redistricting process relies on a bipartisan commission that voters approved at the start of the decade. That process produced the current congressional map, which favors Democrats 6-to-5.
The Democratic-controlled General Assembly and Gov. Abigail Spanberger argue they need the ability to redraw the maps to favor their party 10-to-1 (based on recent election results).
Their stated rationale is to counteract similar actions taken by Republican-controlled states, which redrew maps at the request of President Donald Trump to give Republicans a better chance of controlling the House in this year's midterm elections. Under the proposal, the bipartisan commission would resume control in 2031.
"We're going to fight it by getting as many Democratic seats. We're tired of the gerrymandering of the Republican Party in other states. And so, this is going to be, I guess, a temporary thing," Bill, a Hanover voter who supports the referendum, said.
"You gotta even the playing field if you going to be fair. Be fair all the way across the board," Hazel Phillips, a Henrico resident who also supports the referendum, added.
Opponents of the referendum — including Republican lawmakers — argue the measure would return Virginia to an era of gerrymandered districts and override the will of voters who approved the bipartisan commission.
"I voted five years ago for the bipartisan commission, which resulted in a balanced representation in Washington, and this change has nothing to do with fairness," Steffani McGurn from Henrico said. "I think it's unfair, and it also... it takes, it disenfranchises, a large portion of Virginia voters."
"We are voting no because we don't think any part of the code of Virginia or the constitution of Virginia should be repealed or suspended for political expediency," Deb Giffin, a Henrico voter who also opposed the referendum, said.
"We don't want that. That's called gerrymandering," Louisa Jones, a Hanover voter who opposes the referendum, said.
"We've already decided the redistricting," Wallace Panton, a Hanover voter who opposes the referendum, said.
Republicans have filed several lawsuits against the referendum process, arguing it has broken several laws and should be declared invalid. The Virginia Supreme Court ruled that, given the time-sensitive nature of the case, voting would be allowed to proceed while the legal challenge plays out.
The court is expected to rule on the legality of the process after voting concludes — meaning that even if voters approve the referendum, it could still be overturned by the courts.
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