Over three million Virginians cast a ballot Tuesday on a Constitutional question on whether the Commonwealth’s eleven Congressional Districts should be redrawn to provide Democrats with guaranteed safe seats for at the next three election cycles.
According to unofficial results, a slight majority of 51.46 percent said yes across the Commonwealth. Mail-in ballots can be received through Friday afternoon and still count.
The election was held after the Virginia Supreme Court denied two injunctions to stop the vote from a circuit court judge in Tazewell County. The Virginia Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal but allowed voting to continue.
If the referendum clears the Virginia Supreme Court and survives other legal challenges, Albemarle County, Charlottesville, Fluvanna County, and Nelson County will all be in the new 6th District. They’ll be joined by the cities of Harrisonburg, Lynchburg, Staunton, Radford, Roanoke, Salem, Waynesboro as well as the town of Blacksburg.
Governor Abigail Spanberger sent out a statement soon after the yes vote was declared the winner.
“Virginia voters have spoken, and tonight they approved a temporary measure to push back against a President who claims he is ‘entitled’ to more Republican seats in Congress,’ Spanberger said. “Virginians watched other states go along with those demands without voter input — and we refused to let that stand. We responded the right way: at the ballot box.”
According to the language in the Constitutional amendment, the maps will be redrawn again after the 2030 Census by an independent redistricting commission. That was supposed to have happened last time, but the bipartisan group failed to reach consensus in the fall of 2021 and the existing boundaries were drawn by two special masters appointed by the Virginia Supreme Court.
Turnout in Albemarle County is at 54 percent with 64.78 percent voting yes.
Phil Riese, the chair of the Albemarle County Republican Committee, said he hopes the Virginia Supreme Court will address the result.
“We may disagree, sometimes passionately, about what fairness requires and how our democracy should work,” Riese said. “I am deeply disappointed that a majority approved such an extreme gerrymander. But political disagreement does not make us enemies.”
Turnout in Charlottesville was the lowest in the region with 42 percent but the sharpest majority. Of 15,201 votes cast, 85.43 percent said yes.
In contrast, two-thirds of Louisa County voters said no with 66.24 percent of the 17,927 votes cast. Turnout is 55 percent.
The “no” vote also prevailed in Fluvanna County with 54.85 percent of the 12,428 ballots cast. That is a turnout of 56 percent.
In Nelson County, 55.03 percent of voters said no with 7,197 votes cast. That’s a turnout of 60 percent.
Augusta County will now be split across three Congressional Districts to dilute the voting power of Republicans. Voters overwhelmingly in that county said no with 78.17 percent of the vote.
Voters in Staunton said yes with a 55.06 percent margin and 51 percent turnout. Waynesboro voters said no with a 54.02 percent majority and 48 percent turnout.
The Virginia Supreme Court is expected to hold a hearing in the near future and I am trying to confirm the date. I would also like to read whatever briefs have been filed but that information is not available online to members of the general public.
The deadline to apply to be a candidate has been extended to May 26 due to the special election. The primary will be held on August 4.
Additional stories from others:
- Virginia voters back redistricting amendment after months of legal and political battles, Markus Schmidt, Virginia Mercury, April 21, 2026
- Voters Approving Virginia Democratic Gerrymander Puts Democrats on Cusp of 218 House Seats in Ratings, but Questions Remain, Sabato’s Crystal Ball and Kyle Kondik, April 21, 2026
- Unofficial results signal redistricting referendum passes in Virginia, Shannon Kelly, Chatham Star-Tribune, April 22, 2026
- Morning Digest: Virginia voters approve new map that could elect four more Democrats, Jeff Singer, The Downballot, April 22, 2026
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