This Friday marked the first day for early voting in the Commonwealth on the proposed redistricting amendment. Virginians turned out to cast votes which would permit the newly drawn maps which Democrats recently passed through the General Assembly and across the Governor’s desk.
If the amendment passes, it will go into effect before the November midterm elections. The proposed maps would create a ten to one advantage for Virginia Democrats in the House of Representatives this year. This change is noted to only be temporary, and the maps would not be in effect for future congressional elections.
Voters will have a chance to vote either yes or no for the following question: “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 adoption of the new, temporary maps is said by proponents to be a strategic effort to balance the scales of power against other states’ intentions to redistrict in favor of Republicans. However, opponents warn that the new districts unfairly gerrymander much of the state in their effort, and oversteps the nonpartisan mapmaking process.
The battle of the maps recently changed venue from the courtroom to the ballot. Unsurprisingly, the first day numbers vary by county– Loudoun County notched 78% of its 2025 early vote performance (823 to last year’s 1054) and Arlington was close behind with 75% of its day one performance (649 to 865).
We called the registrars in a handful of counties on Friday afternoon, and by 2pm, Buckingham County had received 127% of its first day total compared to 2025. The City of Petersburg was up to 16% by the same time.
This isn’t to say that this spells trouble in the future for the redistricting amendment; day one of forty five is never the time to make decisive calls. Most counties aren’t going to match or even approach their day one early vote turnout for a statewide November election, unless it’s something that the locality feels very strongly about. In this case, many rural Virginians in any cardinal direction of the state may find themselves facing a future where they are represented by someone from Fairfax, Alexandria, or Loudoun.
In any case, there is still a long month and a half before decision day, and as always, you can trust us at State Navigate to monitor the situation.
Election day is scheduled for April 21st. Early voting will be open through April 18th.
