A proposed constitutional amendment to temporarily allow the Virginia General Assembly to redraw congressional districts could reshape the Commonwealth’s political landscape; on April 12, Republican officials gathered on the Louisa Courthouse Lawn to address the upcoming redistricting referendum with local residents turning out with signs to ‘vote no.’

Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment establishing the Virginia Redistricting Commission in 2020 in an effort to reduce partisan influence and increase transparency. While the commission failed to agree on new maps, The Supreme Court of Virginia appointed two independent special masters — one nominated by Republicans and one nominated by Democrats — to draw congressional and state legislative districts which cover 11 U.S. House districts, 40 State Senate districts, and 100 House of Delegate districts.

The event in Louisa was held less than 10 days before the special election on April 21. If the amendment passes, 10 districts would be favorable to Democrats while one district would be favorable to Republicans. Both parties, at the national and local level, have argued on what constitutes the referendum being ‘fair.’

In July of last year, President Donald Trump ordered Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to redistrict the state to add an additional five Republicanleaning congressional districts. This would bolster the Republican’s chances of maintaining control of the House in the 2026 midterms. Following this, several other Republicanled states like Missouri and North Carolina have signed new maps into law, while Ohio and Florida have pushed for changes.

The Virginia Mercury reported on Robin Levey, a 66-year-old Democrat from Richmond, in the February article, “A voter’s guide to Virginia’s 2026 redistricting push.” Levey stated that while she has always fought for fair representation, “this isn’t a moment we can stand on principle. We have to fight fire with fire,” further stating this is why she will ‘vote yes’ on the amendment.

“I certainly have empathy for them,” Levey said of Republican voters. “But the one they have in the White House is trying to take away from all of us.”

If approved by voters, the redistricting maps would be temporary. After the 2030 census, the commission would resume responsibility for drawing congressional maps.

Republicans have argued that the proposal violates constitutional procedures and is being rushed for partisan advantage. Virginia State Senator Luther Cifers of the 10th Senate District was one of seven Republican officials present at the Louisa Courthouse Lawn. He stated that one of the “most egregious” things about the amendment is his perception of it being a leading question. The ballot question as listed on the Virginia Department of Elections websites states: “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?”

“The people are supposed to make the choice, not the people drafting the question… they’re supposed to make that choice in good faith, and they should be able to count on the people that represent them to ask an honest question in order to get an honest vote,” Cifers said. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Republican or Democrat — if you grew up in Louisa County, you grew up in Goochland County, Amelia County, you’ve got some rural concerns. You’re more likely to share a lot of values with your Republican counterparts than you do with people who are imported into Fairfax to work for the federal government. This is about rural priorities versus the priorities of Northern Virginia.”

Congresswoman Jen Kiggans in the 2nd Congressional District of Virginia Beach stated that she represents a purple district, but that the congressional maps as currently proposed are unfair.

“If you look at our 11 members of Congress that we have right now that represent the Commonwealth, we have five Republicans and six Democrats,” Kiggans said. “That’s about a 45% to 55% split. That’s about even. If you look at the presidential results, Trump had 47%, Harris had 52% [in Virginia].”

Kiggans argued that the results in the last presidential election match current congressional representation, a result of the independent redistricting commission that was voted on in 2020.

“…if [Democrats] are successful on Tuesday the 21st, you will have 10 members of Congress represent the Commonwealth that are Democratic and one Republican. 92% of Virginia would be represented by one political party,” Kiggans said.

Congressman John Mc-Guire was the last official to speak, with repeated choruses of ‘vote no’ throughout his message.

“I hear the Democrats always say, ‘democracy, democracy, democracy.’ Democracy is not in our Constitution. A democracy is mob rule,” Mc-Guire said. “That means the majority gets everything they want and the minority gets nothing. We are a constitutional republic with representative government. That means even in that minority, you still have a voice, and that voice is the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness.”

Juanita Jo Matkins, member of the Louisa County Democrat Committee, stated that while the redistricting amendment is unusual, it’s temporary, and a measure to counter an “unprecedented power grab from Trump and MAGA Republicans.” Matkins cited the issue of Trump reaching out to Gov. Abbott and using his influence to, in her opinion, “steal the midterm election.”

“This is a countermeasure to that,” Matkins said. “We wouldn’t be doing this if the president hadn’t instituted unpopular policies like the violence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the war in Iran and the money being spent on that war, the cuts to social safety nets that are threatened because of the money that has to be spent on military action…we’re willing to institute the ‘unusual’ in response to the ‘very unusual.’” The last day for early voting is Saturday, April 18. The Office of Elections is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and is located at 103 McDonald Street. April 21 is election day; voters must visit their home precinct and there will be no voting at the Office of Elections or the County Administration Building.