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10h ago

Virginia Democrats Reconvene Special Session to Keep Redistricting Option Alive

Democrats say they are preserving a path to a constitutional amendment to counter GOP remaps.

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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser speaks to reporters in Washington, D.C. on December 5, 2022.
Josh Stein delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Wednesday, March 12, 2025, in the House chamber of the Legislative Building in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Travis Long/The News & Observer/TNS)
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Overview

  • House Speaker Don Scott reconvened an unadjourned 2024 special session for Monday, signaling Democrats may pursue a constitutional change that could enable future congressional map revisions.
  • The DCCC said the step is intended to preserve the option to amend Virginia’s constitution so a new congressional map could be considered for 2026.
  • Republicans, including Gov. Glenn Youngkin, condemned the move as a partisan power grab and warned of legal challenges tied to the timing during ongoing early voting.
  • Any change would require an amendment passing in two successive legislative sessions with an intervening election and final voter approval in a referendum, a process legal experts say is novel and likely to be contested.
  • National Democrats are escalating support with polling and funding, including a DCCC-commissioned Change Research poll showing Maryland voter openness to redistricting and NDRC donations reported to Virginia Democrats, as GOP-led states like Texas, Missouri and North Carolina have already passed pro-Republican maps and California advances a pro-Democratic ballot measure.