Redistricting Betrayal in Virginia
Virginia Democrats scrapped ‘reform’ the moment it stood in their way.
by David Catron
February 15, 2026, 10:19 PM
Five years ago, two-thirds of Virginia voters passed a referendum that ostensibly eliminated partisan gerrymandering from the congressional redistricting process that follows each decennial census. This amended the commonwealth’s constitution such that redistricting would thence forth be carried out by the Virginia Redistricting Commission (VRC) rather than state politicians burdened by conflicts of interest. This bill of goods was sold to the Old Dominion’s voters as “election reform” by a very expensive public relations campaign run by various Democrat-affiliated activist groups. It was obvious that the VRC would be jettisoned when it no longer served Democrat interests.
Sure enough, the moment the Democrats gained a governing trifecta they set about neutralizing the VRC. Just days before the 2025 general election, they passed a resolution whereby the commonwealth’s constitution would be amended again to allow a mid-decade redraw by the legislature. They obviously intended to radically gerrymander the districts, ignored various procedural rules, state laws, and its constitution. Consequently, Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley enjoined the scheme. The Democrats appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, which ignored all the irregularities and lifted the injunction on Friday. This is how Virginia’s former Attorney General, Jason Miyares, described the situation in the Wall Street Journal:
Defenders of the new amendment passed in January argue that the Virginia redistricting dispute is merely an extension of national political battles dating back years, including those during the Trump presidency. That argument misses the point. Whatever one’s views of national politics, Virginia voters have spoken clearly by amending the constitution to remove redistricting from partisan control. That constitutional decision — not any national political reason — governs what may lawfully occur in Virginia today … Yet legislative Democrats are attempting to do precisely the opposite of what Virginians wanted: drawing congressional maps behind closed doors.
more
https://spectator.org/redistricting-betrayal-in-virginia/
