After the April 21 special election, Virginians voted to pass a redistricting amendment to adopt a new congressional map and reshape voting districts.

The Virginia Department of Elections shows that the current vote statewide sits at 48.38% “no” and 51.62% “yes.” With 133 of 133 localities reporting as of April 27, there were 3,088,007 votes counted.

In Louisa County, there were 18,064 ballots cast out of 32,495 registered voters for a 56% voter turnout. 66.18% (11,954 voters) voted “no” and 33.82% (6,110) voted “yes.”

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. Following the April 21 vote, the redistricting referendum passed with a 51.62% majority, which means 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 Republican-leaning congressional districts. This would bolster the Republican’s chances of maintaining control of the House in the 2026 midterms. Following this, several other Republican-led states like Missouri and North Carolina have signed new maps into law, while Ohio and Florida have pushed for changes.

Less than 24 hours after Virginians headed to the polls, a circuit court judge ruled the referendum unlawful, which Virginia’s Attorney General Jay Jones appealed. Earlier this year, Republican-backed groups also filed lawsuits to contest the redistricting process.

If the new map is implemented, Louisa County will transition from the 5th Congressional District to the 7th. The legal fight over the referendum is currently unfolding.

In the Virginia Mercury article, “Supreme Court of Virginia weighs challenge to redistricting amendment,” legal observers like Carl Tobias, a constitutional law professor at the University of Richmond, state that the outcome remains uncertain.