This story was reported and written by our media partner VPM News.
This is a developing story. VPM News will update this article as more information becomes available.
Virginia's General Assembly will meet Monday in Richmond. There, state lawmakers are expected to start the process of redistricting, in a legislative session hastily reconvened by Democrats to join nationwide efforts to counteract a gerrymandered redistricting push by President Donald Trump.
The state House clerk notified legislators in a letter Thursday afternoon that the session being called is, technically, part of the 2024 General Assembly special session — which remains active. The letter does not state outright that the topic will be electoral map redistricting.
A general election using new congressional maps likely would not occur until next fall at the earliest: Virginia currently draws its electoral maps through a bipartisan redistricting commission, and changing that process would require a state constitutional amendment.
State law requires two consecutive passages of potential amendments to the Virginia Constitution by the General Assembly, with an election between them, before voters can ratify or reject the measure via ballot referendum. Democrats' efforts for an accelerated timeline would require parliamentary maneuvers in order to be in place for the 2026 federal midterms.
Six Democrats and five Republicans represent Virginia in the US House of Representatives.
Virginia would be only the second state, after California, where Democrats are making moves to counteract Trump's push to redraw electoral maps that explicitly favor the Republican Party. As of Oct. 23, the US House of Representatives has 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats.
The current electoral boundaries had narrow 2024 races in the 1st, 2nd, 7th and 10th congressional districts, which comprise swaths of Northern and Central Virginia, the Northern Neck and part of Hampton Roads. 2026 campaigning began months ago in the 1st Congressional District, currently held by longtime Republican incumbent Rob Wittman.
How would that work?
If the reconvened legislature is able to pass the resolution in 2026 identical to one next week, it would go into effect immediately and not need the governor's signature, as is required of bills.
The incoming governor (whoever she may be) would have to call for a special election for voters to greenlight the constitutional amendment in that resolution, and also sign a bill that draws the new maps.
In the past, primaries have been moved to August to allow for redistricting.
There are three other potential constitutional amendments that could be going before voters in 2026: reproductive rights (including abortion), marriage equality and automatic restoration of civic rights for former felons.
In a text message Thursday, State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D–Fairfax) declined to take questions. A spokesperson for Virginia House Speaker Don Scott (D–Portsmouth) did not immediately reply to a request for an interview.
"Democrats see the political tide turning against them and now they're trying to rewrite the rules before voters even finish casting their ballots," said Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle (R–Hanover) in an emailed statement Thursday.
The potential for the redistricting move was first reported in Virginia Scope, and then later The New York Times. It does not impact the ongoing high-stakes election cycle as Virginians vote in a new state administration.
The last statewide redistricting took place in 2023, after several delays and partisan challenges to the mapmaking itself. The process was ultimately overseen by the Supreme Court of Virginia, which appointed two masters and reconciled their cartography in time for the 2023 general election. That election led to Democrats narrowly taking control of both General Assembly chambers.
As previously reported by VPM News, the possible special session topic also deviates from Virginia Democrats' earlier advisory to prepare for a special session related to the now-ongoing federal government shutdown, which is entering its fourth week.
In 2019 during Trump's first term, the US Supreme Court ruled that gerrymandering — the deliberate drawing of an election map to favor a specific political party — is constitutional. As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote at the time, "The Constitution supplies no objective measure for assessing whether a districting map treats a political party fairly."
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