If the April 21 amendment passes, a new congressional map will be used for the 2026 midterm elections.
Ads for Virginia’s April 21 special election are everywhere, many rife with partisan language and intentional misrepresentations. Here’s what the proposed redistricting amendment actually says, the meaning of a vote in either direction, and how to cast your ballot.
On the ballot, the amendment reads:
“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?”
It is the only item on the ballot. While other localities in Virginia have an additional contest under way, Charlottesville and its surrounding counties do not.
The amendment allows Virginia’s General Assembly to adopt new congressional district maps mid-cycle, with the state returning to its existing redistricting process in 2030.
The amendment further specifies that the General Assembly may only redraw maps if another state adopts new congressional districts without a court order prior to 2030. With Texas, North Carolina, California, and several other states moving forward with new maps, the amendment would automatically allow Virginia’s General Assembly to proceed with its own redistricting efforts.
A “yes” vote would allow Virginia’s General Assembly to redraw the state’s congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The responsibility of drawing the Commonwealth’s congressional districts would return to the Virginia Redistricting Commission in 2031.
A vote “no” would keep Virginia’s congressional districts as currently drawn. The VRC would retain the responsibility of drawing the state’s maps, and next update congressional districts, as regularly scheduled, in 2031.
With early voting underway, proponents and opponents alike are spending major money to turn out voters for the special election. Political action committees on both sides of the issue are representing themselves as advocates “for fairness,” with extremely similar and leading names like Virginians For Fair Elections, Virginia Fair Elections, No Gerrymandering Virginia, and Virginians for Fair Maps.
Under the proposed maps, Virginia Democrats are likely to pick up several additional seats in the House—moving from a map split 6-5 toward Democrats, with up to two seats considered toss-ups, to a 10-1 map in Democrats’ favor.
Proponents argue this is a necessary counterbalance to Republican-led efforts to grab more seats through mid-cycle redistricting.
“I supported the formation of Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting commission in 2020, and that support has not changed. What has changed is what we’re seeing in states across the country—and a President who says he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats before this year’s midterm elections,” said Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger in a March 5 statement, sharing her support for the amendment. “Virginians have the opportunity to take action in response to this extraordinary moment in history.”
In an August 5, 2025, comment to CNBC about Texas’ redistricting, President Donald Trump said, “We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. … I got the highest vote in the history of Texas, as you probably know, and we are entitled to five more seats.”
Trump and congressional Republicans have categorized the nationwide redistricting push as an effort to retain control of the House of Representatives, which their party currently narrowly holds.
A video uploaded to C-SPAN’s website on July 15, 2025 shows Trump telling a group of reporters that in addition to Texas, “we have a couple of other states where we’ll pick up seats also.”
Opponents to Virginia’s redistricting push have categorized it as partisan gerrymandering by Democrats in Richmond that’s designed to dilute voters’ power, particularly in rural communities.
“Voters overwhelmingly chose fairness and transparency because we were tired of politicians gaming the system,” reads an excerpt from the Virginians for Fair Maps website, a PAC opposed to the amendment led by former Republican congressman Eric Cantor and former Virginia attorney general Jason Miyares. “Repealing the bipartisan commission would take us back to the days of rigged maps, closed-door deals, and districts drawn for political gain.”
The VFM website does not address or mention redistricting efforts in other states.
To cast a ballot in person for the special election, voters can vote early at their local registrar’s office, or day-of on April 21 at their designated polling place. More information on topics like absentee voting, polling sites, and local registrar’s office hours can be found at elections.virginia.gov.
Early voting at the Charlottesville Office of Voter Registration and Elections is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4:30pm through April 17. Saturday voting will be held on April 11 and April 18, from 8:30am to 4:30pm.
Albemarle’s early in-person voting is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5pm at the Fifth Street County Office Building through April 17. Saturday voting will be held on April 11 and 18, from 8:30am to 5pm.
As of March 23, the Charlottesville Registrar’s office reported roughly 1,500 ballots cast early, in-person, for the special election.
More information on the amendment can be found on the VDOE website. Additional coverage on redistricting can be found at c-ville.com.
