RICHMOND, Va. β The Virginia Senate approved a constitutional amendment on Friday that would allow the redrawing of the state's 11 congressional districts ahead of next year's midterm elections.
The amendment was approved with a 21-16 vote.
Virginia currently has a 6-5 Democratic majority in Congress. Democratic state lawmakers are seeking to add more seats for their party in response to President Donald Trump asking Republican-controlled states to redraw their maps and give his party a better chance to keep control of the House of Representatives in 2026.
Congressional maps are currently drawn by a bipartisan commission that was approved by 66% of Virginia voters in 2020.
The amendment would give the party in power β which is Democrats right now β the option to redraw districts through 2030 before returning to the commission process.
Republicans have criticized the process as a power grab that ignores what voters approved five years ago and impacts people who voted early before the plan became public.
"This body must reject this amendment. We cannot rewrite the Constitution in the shadows while voters are still voting," Sen. Glenn Sturtevant (R-Colonial Heights) said.
Democrats say their hand is being forced by Trump and other Republican states, and voters will have the final say about whether this actually happens.
"We're giving them an option, and I can tell you it's an option that many of my constituents have asked for," said Sen. Barbara Favola (D-Arlington).
"The current outbreak of opportunistic mid-decade redistricting means that we are in a truly unprecedented, norm-breaking time," Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg (D-Henrico) said.
Now that the amendment has been approved, several more steps remain before maps could be redrawn, including passage in next year's session and approval by voters in a referendum.
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