In 2026, Virginians are voting on whether to change the state's constitution — four times. Voters will decide the future of felon voting rights, marriage equality, redistricting and reproductive rights in the commonwealth.
VPM News' State Politics Reporter Jahd Khalil is speaking to advocates who support and oppose each of the constitutional amendments to help you better understand the proposed changes.
You can hear the arguments for and against each of the amendments in the VPM News digital-first video series "Amending Virginia." In Episode 1, we're talking about congressional redistricting.
Click the video player above to watch the first episode of "Amending Virginia" or check it out on VPM's YouTube channel.
"Fairness" is the key word in this spring's redistricting debate.
The two main groups pushing Virginians to vote are Virginians for Fair Maps, which opposes the amendment, and Virginians for Fair Elections, which supports it.
The Democrat-authored ballot question voters will decide on invokes fairness, too: "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?"
The results on April 21 will answer whether Virginia contributes to the legislative arms race kicked off by President Donald Trump when he pushed for a redraw of Texas' maps to produce more seats favorable to Republicans ahead of the 2026 federal midterm elections.
A ballot victory for "Yes" would overhaul Virginia's congressional districts, which are currently represented by six Democrats and five Republicans, to favor Democrats in 10 of the commonwealth's 11 districts.
The Supreme Court of Virginia has hinted that it would rule on challenges to the amendment process after a "Yes" victory, since ruling after a "No" vote would be moot.
If the "No" vote prevails, the current maps — drawn in 2023 by SCOVA after a bipartisan redistricting commission failed to agree on maps — would remain in place until at least after the 2030 Census.
In either case, the 2026 midterms will be contested on newly gerrymandered maps in at least a half-dozen states, with or without a fresh gerrymander in Virginia. Gerrymandering is when political districts are drawn to favor one group over another. While racial gerrymandering runs contrary to the law, for now, political gerrymandering is legal.
Caroline Legros, director of civics education at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, said civics involves discussing how "members of a community interact with each other."
"I think most people have a strong sense of what feels fair and what feels unfair," she said. "So when you talk about voting, I think people are rightfully really protective of the importance and the weight of their vote."
While not completely, largely the debate breaks down along party lines, and proponents and opponents of the amendment interpret the weight of their vote differently.
For Virginia Democrats, fair means a level playing field nationwide: Fairness is counteracting Republican gains in other states by doing the same, but for Democrats. For Virginia Republicans, fair means Virginia's maps should consider the commonwealth only.
"It's easy to look at just Virginia and just right now, at this moment, and ignore Trump, ignore the history, and to say what the Democrats are doing right now is unfair," said James Abrenio, a former commissioner on the Virginia Redistricting Commission. "When you actually look at what Trump has done, he's really given us only two alternatives, and you have to ask the context of what is fair within those two alternatives."
"No. 1, we respond to him in order to deter this action and to take back the seats that he's still stolen, or we sit back, do nothing and allow him to steal voices of Virginia Democrats? And so how do I resolve what's fairer? The basic concept of you have a right to defend yourself. … All I'm asking that Virginians do is consider that."
Brian Cannon, an advisory board member of No Gerrymandering Virginia (a registered Political Action Committee and Referendum Committee), said while proponents are talking about the race for congress at large, it might not be necessary to mitigate Trump's gerrymandering push.
"The pro-gerrymandering side is talking about it at a macro level, and I think for a lot of folks, you know, this is about Virginia," he said. "I understand the larger context that we're in, but Virginia doesn't need to do this to win, and Democrats don't need to do this to win."
"It's been a mess to watch this word 'fair' be distorted for Virginia."
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