Voters in the eastern US state of Virginia on Tuesday approved a plan to redraw congressional electoral boundaries.
The constitutional amendment could increase Democrats’ chances of winning four seats in Congress currently held by Republicans in the midterm elections in November.
It bypasses the redistricting commission made up of both Democrats and Republicans and allows for a new map drawn by the state’s Democrat-majority General Assembly.
“Virginia has changed the trajectory of the 2026 midterms,” Don Scott, speaker of the state Legislature’s lower house, said in a statement.
“At a moment when Trump and his allies are trying to seize power before the voters have a say, Virginians stepped up and leveled the playing field for the entire country.” He said.
Republicans currently have a slim majority of 217 seats in the House of Representatives, the lower house of Congress, while Democrats have 213 seats.
President Donald Trump urged Virginians to vote against the measure in a post on his Truth social platform: “Virginia, vote ‘No’ to save our country.”
Why is Virginia redrawing electoral districts?
The measure comes after Texas lawmakers redrawn the state’s congressional maps in August, which could help Republicans gain five more seats in the midterm elections.
The new map of Texas was introduced after Donald Trump urged his party to redraw districts to benefit Republicans.
Republicans introduced similar measures in the states of Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio, while Democrats responded with a redistricting effort in California in November.
Republicans are set to continue the redistricting fight in Florida, with the state legislature planning to begin redistricting on April 28.
The results of Tuesday’s vote in Virginia could help effectively overturn Texas redistricting.
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