Why Is Virginia’s Redistricting Referendum on Pause?

A fight over Virginia’s congressional maps is heating up, with Republicans and Democrats locked in a legal battle that could reshape the state’s representation in Washington. 

Virginia voters were originally scheduled to head to the polls on April 21 to decide on a referendum on new congressional maps as the state’s Supreme Court reviewed a legal challenge. The proposed constitutional amendment would allow the General Assembly to redraw districts before the 2026 midterm elections. 

Republicans, including House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, sued to block the vote, arguing Democrats did not follow proper procedures. A lower court initially sided with Republicans, but the state’s high court ruled the referendum could proceed while legal arguments continued. 

A Tazewell County judge has since issued a temporary restraining order blocking the April 21 referendum, pausing the vote as litigation continues. 

The outcome could reshape Virginia’s congressional districts and influence the state’s political landscape ahead of the midterms. 

J. Garren Shipley, communications director for Kilgore, told The Daily Signal that Republicans view the measure as a rollback of Virginia’s bipartisan redistricting reforms. 

“Republicans opposed the referendum for a simple reason: In 2020, voters gave control of Virginia’s maps to a bipartisan commission. The process was designed to ensure that no one party could gerrymander the other. This referendum is an attempt to do away with those changes and put politicians in smoke filled rooms back in charge,” Shipley said. 

He also criticized the legislative process behind the amendment, arguing that it lacked bipartisan input and transparency, and “millions of Virginians who voted for nonpartisan map drawing are having their voices ignored by this process,” Shipley said 

“The biggest challenge right now,” he added, “is ensuring that Virginians know that the vote to ‘restore fairness,’ according to the ballot language, is actually a naked power grab.” 

Democrats said the earlier court ruling was a win for voters.  

Democrat House Speaker Don Scott said, “The fact that they said in their order, which is unusual, that this order, this decision, in no way impacts their ability for us to hold an election, tells you everything you need to know.” 

Early voting, originally set to begin March 6, is now on hold pending the outcome of the ongoing legal appeals.