This story was reported and written by VPM News.
Gov. Abigail Spanberger entered the governor's office Friday morning with a sheaf of executive pens carrying her signature. Each pen was used on one of four bills calling for a referendum on a proposed constitutional amendment, then handed over to the bill's sponsors as a memento. As each bill crossed her desk, onlookers applauded.
The most hotly anticipated bill, she signed last: setting an April 21 date for Virginians to vote on whether to give the General Assembly power to redraw the state's congressional maps ahead of the 2026 federal midterm elections.
Democrats have pursued new district boundaries in response to a campaign of partisan gerrymandering in Republican-led states at the urging of President Donald Trump.
The redistricting effort is also working its way through the court system, with the state's appeals court asking the Supreme Court of Virginia to step in and decide on an appeal filed by Democrats after a Tazewell County judge ruled that the process violated state law.
If Democrats get their way, the redistricted map would net them four additional seats in the US House of Representatives in November, moving the commonwealth from a 6–5 Democratic split to a 10–1 margin.
"It's recognizing that Virginia has the opportunity and the responsibility to be responsive in the face of efforts across the country to change maps," Spanberger said after signing the bill.
"Virginia is moving forward with this temporary and responsive effort to redistrict."
The other three bills Spanberger signed also called for referenda on proposed amendments: one automatically restoring voting rights to those who've completed felony sentences, one protecting access to abortion and contraception and one enshrining marriage equality for Virginians.
"Marriage equality has been protected from a Supreme Court decision more than 10 years ago," she told reporters. "But here in Virginia, we still have the relic of the ban on same-sex marriage in our constitution."
The votes on those three amendments are expected to take place in November.
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