House Joint Resolution No. 4

Redistricting (gerrymandering)

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• Jan 14 – Passed the House of Delegates: HD60 Wyatt – N     HD69 Downey – Y     HD70 Simonds – Y     HD71 Anderson – Y     HD86   Thornton – Y     HD87   Ward – Y

• Jan 16 – Passed the Senate: SD23 Locke – Y      SD24 Diggs – N      SD26 McDougal – N

• The legislature has proposed April 21 as the special election date for this amendment.  

• January 27 – Virginia court strikes down redistricting amendment for April ballot – Virginia Mercury, Democrats appeal.

• February 4 – State Court of Appeals requests the Supreme Court of Virginia take up the case.

• February 5 – General Assembly Democrats release gerrymandered 10:1 Congressional District map.  Williamsburg/JCC are circled.  Read more here.  See the legislation, HB29, here.

• February 6 – Governor Spanberger signed the legislation that established April 21 as the date for the special election and the language of the question that will appear on the ballot. 

• February 13 – The Virginia Supreme Court:
  • Allows the referendum to continue.  The special election date is April 21 and early voting will start on March 6.
  • Will consider an appeal of a case challenging the technical process that was used to proposed the constitutional redistricting amendment but not until after the special election. 
  • Final briefs for the appeal will be filed on April 23.

• February 19 – Virginia judge temporarily blocks progress on redistricting referendum after GOP request...and the Attourney General files an appeal

You can find a more detailed map here.

Local Results of redistricting: 

Proposed Districts are described in HB29, budget amendments.  Item 4-14 #2h which repeals the current congressional districts and establishes Virginia’s congressional districts as defined by the map and verbal description.

• Williamsburg and Charles City County would be in CD4 which stretches west into Richmond and south and west to the NC line near Danville. 
• York County and New Kent would be in CD8 which includes part of Fairfax County.
• Most of James City County would be in CD4 but a portion roughly from Toano to the York River (the Stonehouse A, B, and C precincts) would be divided between CD4 and CD8.

Click on the picture to open the document as posted on the Virginia Legislative Information System.  (Note: the document as posted is in markup to show the changes to the current text).  On this page look for underlined blue text like “Click on the thumbnail” in the previous sentence.  Those are links to source websites.

Summary As Introduced

Apportionment; congressional districts; limited authority of the General Assembly to modify. 

• Retains the current Redistricting Commission that responds to population shifts identified by the U.S. Census results.
• Related to the establishment of congressional districts
• Authorizes the General Assembly to modify one or more congressional districts outside of the standard 10-year (Census driven) redistricting cycle if any other state conducts a redistricting of the state's congressional districts:
  • Outside of the standard 10-year redistricting cycle
  • Or for any purpose other than complying with a state or federal court order to remedy an unlawful or unconstitutional district map.
•  An amendment to the Schedule of the Constitution of Virginia is proposed to specify the period of time to which such authorization is limited.

Opening Thought

Should Virginia’s Constitution prioritize stability, independence, and insulation from partisan pressure, or should it allow conditional flexibility in response to actions beyond the Commonwealth’s control?

What’s On This Page?

1. Observations
2. Discussion to include definitions
3. Comparison table – current law and proposed amendment
4. Ambiguities
5. Key questions for voters
6. Wording that will appear on the ballot and our position
7. Short outline of Virginia’s Redistricting Commission and its process

Observations  

• Virginia voters, by a margin of 66% to 34%, approved the 2020 Constitutional Amendment that created the Virginia Redistricting Commission (discussed later on this page). 
• This commission draws district lines based on U.S. Census population location data from the year before. 
• The last census was in 2020 and the next census will not happen until 2030. 
• There is no plan to resurvey the Commonwealth’s population until the next census.
• Therefore, redistricting mid-decade cannot be based on population location shifts that have occurred in the last six years.
• If approved through a referendum, this amendment would allow the General Assembly to redraw congressional districts prior to the 2026 general election.

Discussion

In addition to "redistricting" you may have heard of the term "gerrymandering". Here are the definitions for both:

Redistricting is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries, takes place in the United States following the completion of each decennial census, to account for population shifts. (https://2021-2025.state.gov/redistricting/)

Gerrymandering is the drawing of legislative district lines to subordinate adherents of one political party and entrench a rival party in power. (https://constitution.congress.gov/.../amdt.../ALDE_00013394/)

There are no official versions of a redistricted Virginia Congressional District map. However, Virginia Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D–Fairfax) said during a Nov. 7 appearance on WAMU's The Politics Hour that Democrats would be looking to redraw maps in a way that would flip at least two US House of Representatives seats currently held by Republicans. (https://www.vpm.org/.../vadems-redistricting...)

Is partisan gerrymandering legal?  Yes.  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rucho v. Common Cause (2019) that partisan gerrymandering presents a political question that federal courts are not equipped to resolve. (https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/18pdf/18-422_9ol1.pdf)

However, states can prohibit partisan gerrymandering through: state constitutions, state courts, and independent redistricting commissions.

Comparison Between Current Virginia Redistricting Law and the Proposed Amendment

Ambiguities

• GA Democrats announced the purpose of the proposed amendment is to allow them to redraw Virginia’s eleven congressional districts from the current 6(D) and 5(R) representation to a 10(D) and 1(R) representation then pass legislation to nullify a statute that requires fairness.
  • The Code of Virginia, § 24.2-304.04, lays out standards and criteria for congressional and state legislative districts.
  • Subsection 8. “A map of districts shall not, when considered on a statewide basis, unduly favor or disfavor any political party.”
  • HB1384, which establishes funding, election dates, and the wording of the question that will appear on the ballot, also nullifies 304.04 – “restore fairness” by canceling the law that requires it.

• ”Trigger” language
  • The amendment’s language ties Virginia’s authority to actions taken by other states.

  • What exactly constitutes another state’s “mid-decade” redistricting for non-census reasons could be legally contested (e.g., what qualifies as “political purpose” MAP changes). (Virginia Mercury)

• Sunset & Temporary Focus
  • The amendment is explicitly temporary (expiring by Oct. 31, 2030) and applies only to congressional maps.
  • That raises questions about how and whether Virginia might revisit broader reforms later — especially for legislative districts — and whether future amendments might be proposed. (Virginia Mercury)
• Basis for Revision
  • The Redistricting Commission meets immediately following a census and has the most current population shift data available for the redistricting process.

  • The proposed amendment allows legislators (specifically the party in control of the General Assembly and Governor’s office) to redraw Congressional Districts without the benefit of population shifts that have occurred since the last census.

Key Questions for Voters

• Should Virginia’s legislature have the power to redraw congressional districts outside the normal census cycle?
  • Mid-decade redistricting is uncommon and has historically been associated with partisan advantage, rather than population necessity.
  • In 2020, Virginia voters approved a constitutional change specifically designed to remove direct map-drawing authority from the legislature and place it with a bipartisan commission.
• Does tying Virginia’s redistricting authority to actions taken by other states make sense?
  • This creates a reactive system, where Virginia’s constitutional rules depend on decisions made elsewhere.  Virginia voters and lawmakers would not control when or whether it activates.
  • It may encourage a cycle of retaliatory redistricting, escalating partisan map changes nationally.

• Is the temporary nature of this amendment (ending in 2030) sufficient to limit potential misuse?

  • Even temporary authority can produce long-lasting effects if maps endure for multiple election cycles.
  • The sunset does not automatically undo or review maps drawn under the amendment.

  • There are no guarantees future legislatures would not seek to extend or replicate this authority through new amendments.

• Does this amendment align with the intent of the 66% of voters who approved of the bipartisan Redistricting Commission in 2020?
  • The proposed amendment does not repeal the commission, but it creates an exception that allows the legislature to bypass it.

  • The amendment raises the question of whether voter intent was to prioritize fairness and independence or political adaptability.

Virginia’s Redistricting Commission

In 2020 66% of Virginia voters approved a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Virginia that created Article II, Section 6-A (referenced in the proposed amendment) which is the Virginia Redistricting Commission.  The 16-member Commission is composed of:

• Two State Senators from each party (four total)
• Two Delegates from each party (four total)
• Eight citizen members selected as outlined in Section 6-A.

• To be submitted to the General Assembly for approval, a proposed plan for Congressional Districts must receive “Yes” votes from at least six of the eight commission legislative members and six of the eight commission citizen members.  This requires bi-partisan agreement.
• The plan is submitted to the General Assembly as a bill.  The General Assembly may only vote YES or NO.  No amendments are allowed.
• Legislative Vote Threshold: Approval depends on the type of map:
  • Congressional maps - Must be approved by a majority vote of both the House of Delegates and the Senate.
  • State legislative maps (House and Senate districts) - Must be approved by a supermajority (two-thirds) of the members elected to each chamber.
• If the Commission fails to produce a proposed plan, the Supreme Court of Virginia will establish the districts. (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/constitution/article2/section6-A/)

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