Change could be coming to Virginia’s voting districts.
Governor Abigail Spanberger recently signed a bill that would allow voters to decide on a proposed Constitutional amendment that would give the Virginia General Assembly the power to redraw state congressional maps.
This comes on the heels of other states such as Texas and California making similar decisions when it comes to their district maps.
This has been defined as “partisan gerrymandering,” and it comes on the heels of other states like Texas and California making similar redistricting efforts.
Out of the 11 districts within Virginia, Democrats hold six of those districts. Should voters approve the amendment and it gets signed into law, Democrats could control up to ten of those districts.
“So it draws one district in Southwest Virginia, which is extremely heavily Republican, and then draws eight seats that are pretty heavily Democratic, and then two competitive seats that I think would favor the Democrats, especially in a year like 2026,” Virginia Tech Associate Professor of Political Science Nicholas Goedert said.
Re-drawn districts could also lead to some districts that would normally lean Republican shift into a district that leans more Democrat.
A special election will be held on April 21 to decide this.