Va. House pushes through last-minute redistricting amendment as GOP cries foul

After three days of partisan wrangling in a surprise special session, the Virginia House of Delegates on Wednesday approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would give lawmakers limited power to redraw the state’s congressional districts mid-decade — a move Democrats say is needed to protect the commonwealth if other states manipulate their maps for partisan gain.

The measure, House Joint Resolution 6007, sponsored by Del. Rodney Willett, D-Henrico, passed 51-42 along party lines after a tense floor debate that laid bare deep divisions over both timing and intent. 

Willett said on the House floor that his proposal would create “a narrow exception” allowing the General Assembly to modify congressional lines “if another U.S. state withdraws its congressional districts mid-decade for reasons other than completing the decennial redistricting or complying with a court order.”

He emphasized the amendment would expire in 2030, leave the state’s independent redistricting commission intact, and give final authority to voters through a statewide referendum.

“This resolution is temporary,” Willett said. “Most importantly, it allows the voters of Virginia to decide whether there is redistricting or not. Our hand has been forced … because of events in the country, unprecedented events.”

GOP decries “power grab”

Republicans argued the measure ignored the two-thirds of Virginians who voted to create an independent redistricting commission in 2020.

“This resolution is nothing more than a partisan power grab by the majority party to overturn the will of Virginia voters,” said Del. Chris Obenshain, R-Montgomery. “As we approach Halloween, it is a frightening attempt to resurrect a Frankenstein’s monster of gerrymandering in our commonwealth.”

Del. Tim Griffin, R-Bedford, accused Democrats of hypocrisy. 

“We didn’t see the language of this until yesterday,” he said. “Somebody said, well, we don’t change the constitution lightly. Bro, you guys have four constitutional amendments right now that we’re considering. You do it lightly.”

Republicans also warned the amendment comes in the middle of an active election season, when early voting is well underway. 

“Now one million Virginians have already voted in this election,” said Del. Israel O’Quinn, R-Washington. “Are you still going to support this six days from now if the results don’t go your way?”

The proposed amendment wouldn’t affect this year’s election, as constitutional referendums must be approved by two successive General Assemblies before going before the voters for final ratification. 

Speaker Scott defends process, blasts Trump

House Speaker Don Scott, D-Portsmouth, dismissed GOP complaints about secrecy.

“I don’t think it was a secret. We just had a public vote,” Scott told reporters after the session. “We followed the rules the House has had for 250 years. We got it done.”

Scott praised Willett’s leadership and said Democrats acted responsibly in response to redistricting turmoil in Republican-run states. 

“Virginia cannot afford to sit on the sidelines while Donald Trump tramples on our Constitution,” he said. “Not one of them said his name today. They are terrified of him. We had to give voters the option to make a change if they so wanted.”

Committee debate sets the tone

Earlier in the day, the Democratic-controlled House Privileges and Elections Committee advanced the amendment on a 12-9 party-line vote after an emotional hearing.

Chair Del. Cia Price, D-Newport News, said the measure responds to “extraordinary circumstances” threatening federal democracy and the Voting Rights Act. 

“Five years may sound like a short amount of time, but not when your democracy is directly under attack,” she said. “As the times have changed, the voters deserve to have their say.”

Republicans on the committee countered that voters already had their say in the 2020 referendum.

“I represent no one from Texas, no one from California,” said Del. Mike Cherry, R-Colonial Heights. “Tying our Constitution to any other state isn’t responsible, and it should stay unprecedented.”

Del. Phillip Scott, R-Spotsylvania, said Virginia’s existing congressional map “reflects how Virginians vote” and should not be changed. “Virginia should be a beacon of what is right,” he said.

A public divided

Public witnesses were sharply divided.

Tram Nguyen, executive director of New Virginia Majority, urged lawmakers to advance the amendment so voters could decide. 

“Virginia is not a ballot-initiative state,” she said. “We rely on you to give us an opportunity to weigh in. Taking the first step today gives voters a way to participate directly in our democracy, and it’s critically needed at this time.”

Jamie Lockhart of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Virginia said Trump-aligned Republicans in other states were “attempting an unprecedented power grab to steal congressional seats, rig the 2026 midterm election, and silence voters.” 

Opponents argued that Democrats were undoing the bipartisan redistricting reforms Virginia voters overwhelmingly supported.

Michael Huffman, executive director of the Virginia Assembly of Independent Baptists, said the amendment “threatens to undermine the concerns of local constituents and the broader implications of fair representation.” 

He added, “We need to stop talking about Trump, stop talking about other states, and uphold an amendment that was overwhelmingly voted for by 66% of Virginians just five years ago.”

Spotsylvania Commonwealth’s Attorney Ryan Mehaffey called the proposal “an obvious partisan effort to seize power.” He said, “If the Constitution is capable of being temporarily bent to the whims of partisan politics, what use is it? This effort severely weakens the integrity of our system of governance.”

GOP lawsuit challenges session

On Tuesday, a group of Republican legislators and a citizen commissioner of the Virginia Redistricting Commission filed suit in Tazewell County Circuit Court, arguing the Democrats’ effort to amend the Constitution during an ongoing election violates state law and the separation of powers.

The plaintiffs — including Sens. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, and Bill Stanley, R-Franklin; House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Scott; and Commissioner Virginia Trost-Thornton — are suing the clerks of the House, Senate, and Tazewell Circuit Court.

Their complaint targets House Speaker Scott’s Oct. 23 letter reconvening the May 2024 special session, initially called for budget purposes, to consider the redistricting amendment. The suit argues that only the governor can call a special session and that such sessions must be confined to declared topics — in this case, fiscal matters.

The plaintiffs are asking for a declaratory judgment voiding House Joint Resolution 6006, the procedural step Democrats used Monday to expand the session’s scope, and for an injunction preventing clerks from certifying or posting the amendment.

Speaking at the Capitol, Kilgore said the lawsuit is about “defending Virginia’s Constitution and ensuring elections remain fair.” He cited Virginia Code § 30-13, which requires 90 days’ public notice before a constitutional amendment appears on a ballot.

“There’s clearly a violation,” he said. “A clerk has no way of posting the 90 days for a constitutional amendment at the courthouse steps. It’s just not possible under this rushed process.” He noted that more than a million Virginians have already voted. 

Kilgore warned that Democrats’ proposal could shift representation toward Northern Virginia. 

“Extraordinary circumstances”

In closing remarks during the committee meeting, Willett said the proposal was about safeguarding democracy, not seizing power. 

“We don’t amend the Constitution lightly,” he said. “We only do that in the most extraordinary circumstances, and I think those are before us today. There is no disenfranchisement here — in fact, there’s enfranchisement, because we’re letting the voters of Virginia have a voice.”

The measure now heads to the Senate, where Democrats hold a slim majority and where debate has already grown heated. If approved this year and again in early 2026 by the next General Assembly, the proposed amendment would appear on a future statewide ballot for voter approval.

Virginia Mercury reporter Shannon Heckt contributed to this story. 

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