Another Tuesday, another election day — this one, to see if Virginia voters will empower the Democrat-controlled state legislature to redraw the commonwealth's congressional map.
The referendum question posed to voters centered on replacing an existing amendment to the state constitution – one that was approved by voters in November of 2020 and stripped redistricting responsibilities from lawmakers and established a bipartisan commission to handle that task – with a new amendment once again empowering state legislators to gerrymander at will.
Question: 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 key words here are "temporarily" and "fairness."
Proponents of the new amendment, including current Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, former President Barack Obama, Eric Holder, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, argued in the runup to the referendum that it was only "fair" that Virginia gerrymander its congressional map because some red states had redrawn their maps ahead of the 2026 midterms. "Fairness," in this case, would be moving from a 6D-5R map to a 10D-1R one because Texas may pick up a House seat or two.
And "temporarily" has been seen as equally problematic. Democrats maintain that the congressional map will once again be redrawn after the 2030 census. To believe this, you have to believe that Democrats will: 1. Fairly redraw the maps in 2030, provided they keep the majority in the General Assembly; and 2. Willingly give up the four congressional seats they may gain during this year's midterm elections.
RELATED: Even Liberal Media Is Side-Eyeing Virginia’s Sketchy Redistricting Plan
Gotcha: Tim Kaine Inadvertently Blurts Out the Truth About Virginia's Gerrymandering Scheme
President Trump made a last-minute appeal to voters during a Monday night tele-townhall with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who had spent some time in the Old Dominion in recent weeks urging voters to reject the referendum. The president echoed that sentiment in his remarks.
“This referendum is a blatant partisan power grab that nobody’s really ever seen anything like it,” Trump said on a telerally call with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) one day before the Virginia referendum.
“It’s the liberal extremist Gov. Abigail Spanberger, too bad, and the far-left Democrats in Richmond after Spanberger promised Virginia voters that she would never do this,” Trump said on the call. “And if it passes, Virginia Democrats will eliminate four out of five congressional seats, so you’re going to get just wiped out in terms of representation in Washington. That’s what it’s all about.”
“Please get out and vote and vote no. It’s very simple,” the president added. “Just vote no.”
The polls close at 7:00 PM Eastern. We'll be watching them here at RedState, and you can, too. We'll bring you the live results right here, thanks to our partnership with Decision Desk HQ, so be sure to check in — and participate in the comments below.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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