For a Republican point of view, see the contrasting opinion piece by Del. Wren Williams, R-Patrick County.
Virginia has long led the nation in building fair, transparent elections. In 2020, our voters — by a margin of two to one — approved a constitutional amendment to take partisan politicians out of the map-drawing process and place that power with a bipartisan redistricting commission. We were proud of that. We meant it. And nothing about what we are proposing today changes it for the long term.
But Virginia does not exist in a vacuum. And what is happening across this country right now is an emergency.
At President Donald Trump’s direction, Republican-controlled legislatures in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio and Florida have engaged in or are actively pursuing mid-decade congressional redistricting — not because the law requires it, not because courts ordered it, but to lock in Republican congressional majorities ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. These are not routine map adjustments. They are deliberate, coordinated political maneuvers designed to predetermine the outcome of elections before a single vote is cast.
Texas has already redrawn its maps. North Carolina has joined the effort. Missouri, Ohio, and Florida are in various stages of following suit. When complete, these Republican gerrymanders could hand the GOP enough seats to lock in control of the U.S. House of Representatives regardless of what voters actually want. If we do nothing, the will of the American people may not matter.
Make no mistake: this is not just a national numbers game. It is a direct, targeted assault on Virginia’s power in Washington. Every seat Republicans add in Texas or North Carolina dilutes the influence of Virginia’s congressional delegation. Every gerrymander that goes unanswered shifts the balance of the House — and the committees, the speakerships, the subpoena power, the appropriations decisions that flow from that balance — further away from states like ours. The national Republican Party is not just trying to win more seats. They are trying to make Virginia’s six Democratic members of Congress irrelevant before they ever cast a vote.
A Targeted, Temporary Response
The constitutional amendment Virginia voters will consider in an April referendum is a carefully scoped, temporary emergency measure. Let me be precise about what it does — and what it does not do.
It does not abolish the Virginia Redistricting Commission. That body — the one Virginians voted to create in 2020 — will continue to govern all future redistricting after the 2030 census. Nothing in this amendment touches that process.
What it does is create a narrow, time-limited option: if another state pursues mid-decade partisan redistricting between 2025 and 2030 for political purposes — not because a court ordered it, not because a census required it — Virginia’s General Assembly gains the authority to redraw our own congressional maps in response. It is an emergency valve, triggered only by extraordinary circumstances. The amendment is explicitly limited to the period before the next census. After 2030, the bipartisan commission resumes full authority.
Critics have called this a power grab. I understand the instinct to be skeptical of politicians drawing their own maps. I share it as a principle. But that critique ignores the reality of the moment: the power grab has already happened — in Austin, in Raleigh, in Columbus, in Tallahassee. Virginia is not starting a fight. We are declining to lose one we did not choose.
The Stakes for Virginia
Under our current congressional map, Virginia sends six Democrats and five Republicans to Washington. That rough balance reflects the genuine political diversity of our commonwealth — a state with a large progressive urban core, substantial suburban communities that have trended Democratic in recent cycles and deeply conservative rural regions.
If Republican gerrymanders in Texas, North Carolina, Ohio, and Florida succeed as designed — and Virginia does nothing — the resulting imbalance in the U.S. House will effectively silence the voices of millions of Virginia voters on federal policy. Think about what that means in practical terms: committee assignments, committee chairmanships and the power to shape legislation all flow from which party controls the House and by how much. A padded Republican majority built on gerrymanders in other states means Virginia’s Democratic members of Congress — currently serving on committees that shape transportation funding, defense spending and health care policy — could find themselves in the minority with dramatically reduced leverage to deliver for our constituents.
I have heard from Virginians across this commonwealth — government workers whose paychecks have been frozen, families worried about SNAP benefits, veterans concerned about VA services. These are not abstract political questions. They are real consequences of who controls Congress and, critically, of how much power Virginia’s own representatives have to push back. A gerrymander-padded Republican majority does not just shift numbers on a scorecard. It strips Virginia’s delegation of the leverage it needs to fight for our federal workers, protect our military installations and defend the hundreds of thousands of Virginians whose livelihoods depend on federal investment in our commonwealth.
Voters Decide — Not Politicians
Here is the most important thing to understand about this amendment: the Virginia General Assembly does not have the final word. Virginia voters do.
Our constitutional process requires that an amendment pass the legislature twice, with a House of Delegates election in between, and then be approved by the people in a statewide referendum. That is exactly what has happened here. The General Assembly passed this amendment in October 2025 and again in January 2026 — with voters electing a legislature in between. Now, in April, Virginians themselves will decide whether to add this authority to our constitution.
The same citizens who voted two to one to create the redistricting commission will have the final say. They will see the proposed new maps before they vote. They will know exactly what they are approving. That is not a power grab — that is direct democracy.
Sen. Mamie Locke, D-Hampton, put it simply and correctly: this amendment “in no way takes away any decision-making authority from the public. We’re giving them an option.”
Principle and Pragmatism
I have spent my career advocating for fair elections and clean redistricting processes. I believe in nonpartisan map drawing as a principle. I believe voters should choose their representatives — not the other way around. I would prefer a federal law banning mid-decade partisan gerrymandering nationwide. I would support a constitutional amendment to make it illegal everywhere.
But those solutions do not exist today. What exists today is a coordinated Republican campaign, directed from the White House, to gerrymander enough congressional seats to make elections in America functionally irrelevant. Honoring principle by doing nothing in the face of that campaign is not integrity — it is surrender.
Virginia has always understood that the preservation of democratic government sometimes requires us to be clear-eyed about the threats it faces. We are not abandoning our commitment to fair redistricting. We are defending it. We are creating a pressure-release valve that can only be used when others have already broken the rules — and that expires automatically when the next census arrives.
The Choice Before Virginia
Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. Right now, they are under threat. Not from within Virginia — but from a nationally coordinated campaign to make congressional elections, in state after state, a foregone conclusion before they begin.
This April, Virginia voters have the opportunity to say: not here. Not on our watch. You can level the playing field, protect Virginia’s voice in Congress and preserve fair representation for our kids and grandkids — while ensuring that our bipartisan redistricting process resumes after 2030, exactly as we intended when we created it.
Virginia did not start this fight. But we have a responsibility to our constituents, to our democracy and to the generations that follow us to make sure it does not go uncontested.
Vote yes in April. Let Virginians decide. Early Voting begins March 6, and Election Day is April 21.
Sen. Lamont Bagby, D-Richmond, represents the 14th Senate District and serves as chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia.