Virginia law requires both chambers of Congress to adopt the constitutional amendment again early next year before the plan goes before voters.
Will California support redistricting under Proposition 50?
Proposition 50 has sparked debate over California’s redistricting. It will play a key role in determining which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives.
Oct 29 (Reuters) – Virginia’s Democratic-led House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a state constitutional amendment that would allow lawmakers to redraw Virginia’s congressional maps next year, escalating a mid-decade multi-state redistricting war sparked by President Donald Trump.
The Democratic-sponsored resolution passed on a party-line vote of 51-42, sending the bill to the Virginia Senate, where the Democratic majority is also expected to approve it.
Under Virginia law, both chambers of Congress would have to pass another constitutional amendment early next year before the redistricting plan can be sent to voters for approval by referendum.
The bill would temporarily bypass the independent redistricting commission created by voters in a 2020 constitutional amendment that would allow the Democratic-controlled Legislature to reshape congressional boundaries to favor partisan advantage ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections.
Republican lawmakers condemned the Democratic effort, calling it a naked power grab. But Democrats countered that the move was in response to a larger power grab launched by President Trump, who wants Texas to rewrite its congressional maps to give Republicans five more seats in the House this year.
Republicans, including Mr. Trump, have publicly acknowledged that the plan enacted this summer in Texas, followed by similar plans in Missouri and North Carolina, is aimed at preserving their party’s narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives in the hotly contested 2026 midterm elections.
Democrats are fighting back by pursuing their own redistricting efforts, starting in California, where a plan to redraw congressional lines to favor the party was passed by Congress in August and will be decided by voters in a special election next week.
In Indiana, Republican Gov. Mike Braun bowed to a White House pressure campaign and called a special legislative session next Monday to consider the state’s redistricting plan.
This week, the Virginia Democratic Party has entered the fray as the gubernatorial race and the election of 100 members to the state House of Representatives are in the spotlight.
There are no specific changes proposed to the political map in Virginia. However, Democrats are expected to have a good chance of picking up at least two more seats. Democrats currently hold six of Virginia’s 11 House seats.
