Explanation for Proposed Constitutional Amendment to Be Voted On at the April 21, 2026, Special Election

PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

BALLOT QUESTION

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?

EXPLANATION FOR VOTERS

April 21, 2026 Proposed Constitutional Amendment Explanation

2026 Constitutional Amendment Brochure (Spanish) (Vietnamese) (Korean)

2026 Constitutional Amendment Poster (Spanish) (Vietnamese) (Korean)

Present Law

Virginia's eleven congressional districts are drawn once every ten years by the Virginia Redistricting Commission, a legislative body made up of eight legislators and eight citizens, with an equal number of Republicans and Democrats. Virginia's congressional districts were last redrawn in 2021 and will next be redrawn in 2031.

Proposed Law

The proposed amendment would give the General Assembly the authority to redraw one or more of Virginia's congressional districts before 2031 in limited circumstances. In the event that another state redraws its own congressional districts before 2031, without being ordered by a court to do so, the General Assembly would then be able to redraw Virginia's congressional districts. The General Assembly's power to do so would continue until October 31, 2030, and the Virginia Redistricting Commission would reassume the responsibility of drawing the congressional districts in 2031.
The proposed district map has been approved by the General Assembly and would take effect only if the constitutional amendment is approved by the voters.
A "yes" vote would allow the General Assembly to redraw Virginia's congressional districts, since other states have done so, in addition to giving effect to the proposed district map in time for the 2026 Congressional elections, and return the responsibility of drawing the congressional districts in 2031 to the Virginia Redistricting Commission.
A "no" vote would leave the authority to draw congressional districts with the Virginia Redistricting Commission once a decade and Virginia's current districts would remain in place.

FULL TEXT OF AMENDMENT

[Proposed new language is underlined. Deleted old language is stricken.]

ARTICLE II

FRANCHISE AND OFFICERS

Section 6. Apportionment.

Members of the House of Representatives of the United States and members of the Senate and of the House of Delegates of the General Assembly shall be elected from electoral districts established pursuant to this section and Section 6-A of this Constitution. Every electoral district shall be composed of contiguous and compact territory and shall be so constituted as to give, as nearly as is practicable, representation in proportion to the population of the district. Every electoral district shall be drawn in accordance with the requirements of federal and state laws that address racial and ethnic fairness, including the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended, and judicial decisions interpreting such laws. Districts shall provide, where practicable, opportunities for racial and ethnic communities to elect candidates of their choice.

The Commonwealth shall be reapportioned into electoral districts in accordance with this section and Section 6-A in the year 2021 and every ten years thereafter, except that the General Assembly shall be authorized to modify one or more congressional districts at any point following the adoption of a decennial reapportionment law, but prior to the next decennial census, in the event that any State of the United States of America conducts a redistricting of such state's congressional districts at any point following that state's adoption of a decennial reapportionment law for any purpose other than (i) the completion of the state's decennial redistricting in response to a federal census and reapportionment mandated by the Constitution of the United States and established in federal law or (ii) as ordered by any state or federal court to remedy an unlawful or unconstitutional district map.

Any such decennial reapportionment law, or reapportionment law modifying one or more congressional districts, shall take effect immediately and not be subject to the limitations contained in Article IV, Section 13, of this Constitution.

The districts delineated in the decennial any reapportionment law shall be implemented for the November general election for the United States House of Representatives, Senate, or House of Delegates, respectively, that is held immediately prior to the expiration of the term being served in the year that the reapportionment law is required to be enacted. A member in office at the time that a decennial redistricting law is enacted shall complete his term of office and shall continue to represent the district from which he was elected for the duration of such term of office so long as he does not move his residence from the district from which he was elected. Any vacancy occurring during such term shall be filled from the same district that elected the member whose vacancy is being filled.

SCHEDULE

Section 6. Application and duration of certain redistricting amendments.

The authorization in Article II, Section 6 authorizing the General Assembly to modify one or more congressional districts at any point following adoption of a decennial reapportionment law in the event that any State of the United States of America conducts a redistricting of such state's congressional districts at any point following that state's adoption of a decennial reapportionment law shall be limited to making such modifications between January 1, 2025, and October 31, 2030, in response to actions taken by another state between January 1, 2025, and October 31, 2030.

Approved by House and Senate

Privileges and Elections Committees

on February 20, 2026.

Explicación de la propuesta de enmienda constitucional que será sometida a votación en las eleccióne especial del 21 de abril de 2026

PROPUESTA DE ENMIENDA CONSTITUCIONAL

Pregunta: ¿Debería enmendarse la Constitución de Virginia para permitir que la Asamblea General adopte temporalmente nuevos distritos electorales con el fin de restablecer la equidad en las próximas elecciones, mientras se asegura que se reanude el proceso estándar de redistribución de distritos de Virginia para todas las futuras redistribuciones de distritos después del censo de 2030?

Một giải thích về sửa đổi hiến pháp được đề xuất sẽ được bỏ phiếu trong cuộc bầu cử đặc biệt vào ngày 21 tháng 4 năm 2026

ĐỀ NGHỊ SỬA ĐỔI HIẾN PHÁP

Lấy ý kiến cử tri: Hiến pháp Virginia có nên hay không nên sửa đổi để cho phép Quốc hội tạm thời áp dụng việc chia lại các địa hạt bầu cử quốc hội theo kiểu mới để khôi phục sự công bằng trong các cuộc bầu cử sắp tới, đồng thời bảo đảm rằng sau khi có cuộc điều tra dân số năm 2030, quy trình thường lệ để chia lại địa hạt bầu cử của Virginia sẽ được tái lập cho tất cả các lần chia lại trong tương lai?

제안된 헌법 개정안에 대한 설명은 2026년 4월 21일 특별 선거에서 투표될 것입니다.

상정된 헌법 개정안

질문: 다가오는 선거의 공정성을 회복하기 위해 주 의회(General Assembly)가 일시적으로 새로운 연방 하원 선거구를 채택할 수 있도록 하는 한편,  2030년 인구 조사 이후의 모든 향후 선거구 재조정에 대해서는 버지니아의 표준 재조정 절차의 재개를 보장하기 위해 버지니아 헌법을 개정해야 합니까?