RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia lawmakers returned to Richmond Monday and started a process that could allow changes to the state's Congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
In doing so, Virginia becomes the latest state in a nationwide push to do so in response to a call from President Donald Trump as Republican-led states look to add more Republican seats to help the party maintain control of the House of Representatives, while Democratic-led states like California and Virginia aim to do the opposite.
"They want to handpick their voters and they want to silence the voices of Republicans," said Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Virginia, 1st District).
"This is an attack on Democracy and our hands have been forced here. This is not our choice," said Del. Rodney Willett (D-Henrico).
Lawmakers returned to Richmond under the guise of the 2024 Special Session that never adjourned and Monday's agenda consisted of the House of Delegates voting to allow them to take up redistricting in the session.
Virginia's current redistricting process was a constitutional amendment approved by voters in a 2020 referendum. It created a bipartisan commission to draw the maps, with the State Supreme Court to step in if an agreement cannot be reached (which is what happened with the current maps).
In order to change that process, lawmakers would have to follow the same constitutional amendment steps — it is a process that normally takes years, but they are trying to do before next summer.
Those steps are approving language in one session of the General Assembly (which is this current one), have an election that includes elections for the House of Delegates (which is the election currently in early voting and wraps up on Nov. 4), approve the language in another General Assembly session (which would be the regular session in January 2026), and then send it to voters for a referendum (which could be a special election sometime in the spring).
While the exact language of the proposed changes hasn't been released, the lawmaker who will introduce the language said it would not abolish the bipartisan commission or give the power to redraw state legislative maps.
"This is to create, again, not a mandate, but an option in the interim -- in between those decennial redistricting to do something when there's an extraordinary circumstance," said Willett.
Regarding that circumstance — the redistricting happening in other states — Republicans who spoke out against the effort, said Virginia should not be focused on what others are doing.
"Every state is a little bit different. So, to try to say 'Well, if they did it in Texas, does that mean it was wrong in Texas? They have a different constitution. This is about the Virginia constitution," said Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Virginia, 9th District), who appeared with the rest of the Virginia Republican Congressional delegation in Richmond prior to the start of session.
"Just because a bad idea was proposed and even taken up by a few of our sister states, such as North Carolina or California, is not a reason for Virginia to follow suit," said Del. Lee Ware (R-Powhatan). "All this for a transparent political power play aimed at heightening one party's power."
Democrats disagree.
"Our entire presence this week is because the actions that Texas and Missouri and North Carolina have taken have triggered this," said Del. Cia Price (D-Newport News). "So the trigger has already been pulled when it comes to attacks on our democracy. So that's why Virginia is here. We are going to do our job to protect democracy."
The House is not expected to be in session on Tuesday, but the Senate will be.
The constitutional amendment is expected to be introduced on Wednesday and lawmakers should be done their work by Friday.
Logistical challenges
Democrats face significant logistical challenges in their redistricting effort. The 2020 constitutional amendment was designed to ensure all congressional districts would use "fair maps." Changing that requires the laborious process of passing the legislature twice with an election in between, then returning to the ballot for voters.
CBS 6 political analyst Dr. Bob Holsworth said Democrats are trying to solve a problem of their own making.
"What's occurred is that in the states run by Democrats where they have those fair maps, they're saying, oh my goodness, look at what the Republicans are doing, and we've tied our own hands behind our back. We have to untie them," Holsworth said. "That's what the Democrats are trying to do in Virginia today."
The session is expected to wrap up by Friday.
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