Republicans
Oppose
Democrats
Support
During a specially-called legislative session at the end of October 2025, the Democratically-controlled Virginia General Assembly passed HJ6007, which aimed to amend the Virginia Constitution such that the legislature can bypass the 2020 reform that requires a bipartisan commission redraw the US Congressional districts every 10 years per the decennial census, and redraw those lines in 2026 in time for the November 2026 election.
Virginia’s Constitution is clear: A constitutional amendment has to pass the General Assembly twice, with a general election in between so voters can hold their representatives accountable before that second vote. Only after that does it go to a statewide referendum.
But here’s what’s happened with HJ6007, the VA redistricting amendment.
The first vote occurred at the end of October 2025, while the 2025 election was already well underway. Around a million ballots had already been cast during early voting. Democrats treated that same 2025 election as the “intervening” election required by the Virginia Constitution.
They took the second vote in January 2026, and passed that.
And then they put the amendment referendum on an April 2026 ballot — during a typically low-turnout special election.
The Democrats also passed a redrawn districts map that would go into effect if the the amendment passed the April referendum. The new map would likely cause Virginia's representation to the US Congress to shift from
5 Republicans and 6 Democrats
to
1 Republican and 10 Democrats.
Today’s 5 out of 11 seats (45 %) mirrors Virginia's electorate because approximate 40-45% of Virginians vote Republican.
The new map takes that 45% and cuts it down to 9% of the seats.
Obviously, we opposed this redistricting amendment, and are grateful that the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the measure.
Additional Resources
The Family Foundation developed a brochure which has more information about the redistricting amendment. It is posted on their Resources page.
The actual proposed changes to the constitution are posted here.
