The Virginia State Capitol is shown in Richmond, Virginia, in 2023. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Virginia Democrats will hold a special legislative session starting Monday to draw a new congressional map in response to the recent wave of aggressive Republican gerrymanders in several other states.
The Virginia House of Delegates will convene Monday afternoon, according to a letter sent to House members Thursday from Speaker Don Scott (D). A similar letter was sent to Senate members, Scott wrote.
The New York Times reported earlier Thursday that the state plans to use the session to draw a new congressional map.
The surprise move makes Virginia the second state, after California, to announce a redistricting process that could net seats for Democrats before the 2026 midterm elections. Through the effort, Democrats could pick up between two or three additional seats in the House of Representatives.
Similar to California, redrawing Virginia’s congressional map will require altering the state’s constitution, as a 2020 amendment established an independent redistricting commission.
The map and accompanying legislation would need to be passed by Virginia lawmakers in the current session, then again in the next session, which starts in January, before being approved by voters. Democrats hold majorities in both chambers of the Virginia legislature.
Virginia’s redistricting process will start just days after Republicans in North Carolina passed a new Trump-backed congressional map that, if upheld, would create an additional GOP seat in Congress at the expense of Black voters.
Democratic legislative leaders in Virginia did not immediately respond to Democracy Docket’s requests for comment.
North Carolina was the third state to redraw district lines this year at President Donald Trump’s demand, following Texas and Missouri earlier this year. Utah Republicans passed a new gerrymander this month, and Ohio has one in the works, as well.
The White House and Trump allies are also pressuring lawmakers in Indiana, Ohio and Florida to rig their state maps in the GOP’s favor.
In August, L. Louise Lucas, president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate, said “every state in the nation” should follow California in redistricting to counteract the GOP’s gerrymander in Texas, which could net Republicans as many as five congressional seats.
“Stay tuned for Virginia…” Lucas added.