Virginia

Congressional and Legislative

Congressional and legislative maps are enacted by the 16-member Virginia Redistricting Commission.

No later than December 1st of the year ending in zero, the Virginia House and Senate majority and minority leaders each nominate two Commissioners from their party’s chamber delegation. The remaining eight commissioners are citizens selected by the Redistricting Commission Selection Committee. No later than November 15 of the year ending in zero, the Chief Justice of the Virginia Supreme Court submits a list of retired Virginia circuit court judges willing to serve on the Committee to the majority and minority leaders in the Virginia General Assembly, who each select one judge from the list to serve. Those four members then select, by a majority vote, a fifth member from the list of judges to serve as Chair of the Selection Committee. No later than January 1st of the year ending in one, the House and Senate majority and minority leaders each submit a list of sixteen eligible citizen candidates to the Selection Committee, which selects two from each list to serve as the remaining eight Commissioners. No later than February 1st of the year ending in one, a chair is selected from the citizen members in a public meeting.

All Commission meetings, records, documents and communications relating to the Commission’s work are made available to the public. Prior to proposing and voting on any plans, the Commission must hold at least three public hearings in different parts of the state. Legislative district maps must be submitted to the General Assembly no later than 45 days after receiving the state’s census data. Senate plans must be approved by at least six citizen-Commissioners and six legislator-Commissioners, including at least three of the Senator-Commissioners. House plans must be approved by at least six citizen-Commissioners and six legislator-Commissioners, including at least three of the Delegate-Commissioners. Congressional district maps must be submitted to the General Assembly no later than 60 days after receiving census data or July 1st of that year, whichever is later. Plans must be approved by at least six of the legislator-Commissioners and at least six of the citizen-Commissioners.

The General Assembly must adopt or reject submitted plans within 45 days. If the General Assembly fails to adopt one or more of the maps by then, the Commission has 14 days to submit a new plan, which the General Assembly must approve or reject within 7 days. If this plan fails, or if the Commission otherwise fails to submit a new map by the deadline, the maps are drawn by the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Source: Va. Const. art. II, § 6; Va. Code Ann. §§ 30-391 - 30-400.

Previous Redistricting Cycles

2010

• Congressional
  • Original Plan – HB 251
    • Passed = January 20, 2012 (R-controlled)
    • Signed = January 25, 2012
    • Preclearance = Granted on March 14, 2012
  • Litigation History
    • Page v. Va. State Bd. of Elections, 58 F.Supp.3d 533 (E.D. Va. 2014): Plaintiffs challenged one of the districts in the General Assembly’s enacted congressional plan as a racial gerrymander in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. On October 7, 2014, the district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that race was the predominant factor when drawing the challenged district and such use of race was not narrowly tailored for the plan to survive strict scrutiny.
      • Vacated and Remanded, Cantor v. Personhuballah, 135 S.Ct. 1699 (2015): On March 30, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the district court’s judgment and remanded the case for further consideration in light of Alabama Legislative Black Caucus v. Alabama.
    • Page v. Va. State Bd. of Elections II, No. 3:13-cv-678 (E.D. Va. June 5, 2015): On remand, the district court again found that the challenged congressional district was an impermissible racial gerrymander in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, and ordered the General Assembly to enact a remedial plan by September 1, 2015.
      • Wittman v. Personhuballah, 136 S.Ct. 1732 (2016): Incumbent members of Congress who intervened in the case appealed the district court’s decision striking down the General Assembly’s enacted congressional plan on racial gerrymandering grounds. On May 23, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the appellant-representatives lacked standing to appeal the decision.
    • Personhuballah v. Alcorn, 155 F.Supp.3d 552 (E.D. Va. 2016): After the General Assembly failed to enact a remedial congressional plan in accordance with the court’s order to do so, the federal court assumed responsibility for enacting a new plan. On January 7, 2016, the court adopted one of the plans proposed to it, Plan 16, for use in the 2016 election.
• Legislative
  • Original Plan – HB 5001
    • Passed = April 11, 2011 (Split-control)
    • Vetoed = April 15, 2011 (R-controlled)
  • Second Plan – HB 5005
    • Passed = April 28, 2011 (Split-control)
    • Signed = April 29, 2011
    • Preclearance = Granted on June 17, 2011
  • Amended Senate Plan – SB 310
    • Passed = February 26, 2014 (R-controlled)
    • Vetoed = April 7, 2014 (D-controlled)
  • Amended Senate Plan – SB 986
    • Passed = February 17, 2015 (R-controlled)
    • Vetoed = March 26, 2015 (D-controlled)
  • Amended Senate Plan – SB 1237
    • Passed = February 17, 2015 (R-controlled)
    • Vetoed = March 26, 2015 (D-controlled)
  • Amended House Plan – HB 1332
    • Passed = February 20, 2015 (R-controlled)
    • Vetoed = March 26, 2015 (D-controlled)
  • Amended House Plan – HB 1699
    • Passed = February 20, 2015 (R-controlled)
    • Vetoed = March 26, 2015 (D-controlled)
  • Amended House Plan – HB 1417
    • Passed = February 23, 2015 (R-controlled)
    • Vetoed = March 26, 2015 (D-controlled)
  • Amended Senate Plan – SB 1084
    • Passed = February 24, 2015 (R-controlled)
    • Vetoed = March 26, 2015 (D-controlled)
  • Litigation History
    • Bethune-Hill v. Va. State Bd. of Elections, 137 S.Ct. 788 (2017): Plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit challenging the General Assembly’s enacted state House and Senate plans as racial gerrymanders in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. The district court initially upheld the plans after concluding from its analysis of the new lines that race did not predominate in their creation and that the General Assembly had good reasons to believe its use of a racial target percentage was necessary to comply with the Voting Rights Act. On March 1, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s invalidation of one district but reversed and remanded as to the other challenged districts on the grounds the district court misapplied the standard of review when determining whether race was the predominant consideration when creating the plans.
    • Vesilind v. Va. State Bd. of Elections, 813 S.E.2d 739 (Va. 2018): Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit challenging the General Assembly’s enacted state House and Senate plans as violating the state constitution’s compactness requirement. The trial court upheld the plans as constitutional, and on May 31, 2018, the Virginia Supreme Court affirmed, upholding the plans as in compliance with the Virginia Constitution.
    • Bethune-Hill v. Va. State Bd. of Elections, 326 F.Supp.3d 128 (E.D. Va. 2018): On June 26, 2018, on remand from the U.S. Supreme Court, the district court struck down eleven challenged state House districts as racial gerrymanders in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and ordered they be redrawn.
      • Va. House of Delegates v. Bethune-Hill, 139 S.Ct. 1945 (2019): Virginia’s Attorney General announced the state would not be appealing the district court’s invalidation of several House districts on racial gerrymandering grounds, but the state House of Delegates did appeal that decision on their own. On June 17, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the House did not have standing to appeal the decision, either to represent the State’s interests or in its own right.
    • Bethune-Hill v. Va. State Bd. of Elections, 368 F.Supp.3d 872 (E.D. Va. 2019): After the General Assembly failed to enact a remedial state House plan pursuant to the court’s order, the court took responsibility for implementing a remedial plan and appointed a special master to assist in doing so. On February 14, 2019, the district court adopted its final remedial state House plan and ordered it be used for the 2019 legislative elections.
    • Goldman v. Brink, No. 3:21-cv-420 (E.D. Va. 2021): On June 28, 2021, a Virginia voter filed a federal lawsuit against Virginia's Governor, the Virginia Department of Elections, the State Board of Elections, and various state election officials, challenging the state's plan to move forward with the 2021 legislative elections under the legislative redistricting plan enacted during the 2010 cycle. On October 12, 2021, the district court dismissed the plaintiffs' claims against Virginia's Governor and the State Board of Elections on the grounds they were barred by sovereign immunity, which the plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit six days later.

2000

• Congressional
  • Original Plan – HB 18
    • Passed = July 10, 2001 (R-controlled)
    • Signed = July 19, 2001
    • Preclearance = Granted on October 16, 2001
  • Litigation History
    • Hall v. Virginia, 385 F.3d 421 (4th Cir. 2004): Plaintiffs filed a federal lawsuit challenging one of the congressional districts in the General Assembly’s enacted plan as violating Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The district court dismissed the complaint on the grounds the plaintiffs failed to satisfy the requisite preconditions for bringing a Section 2 claim, and on September 22, 2004, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal.
• Legislative
  • Original Plans – HB 1 (House); SB 1 (Senate)
    • Passed = April 18, 2001 (R-controlled)
    • Signed = April 21, 2001
    • Preclearance = Granted as to House plan on June 15, 2001, and as to Senate plan on July 9, 2001
  • Litigation History
    • Wilkens v. West, 571 S.E.2d 100 (Va. 2002): Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit challenging several of the General Assembly’s enacted state House and Senate districts as violating the state constitution on a number of grounds, including racial gerrymanders, pairing incumbents, partisan gerrymandering, compactness, and equal population. On November 1, 2002, the Virginia Supreme Court reversed the trial court’s judgment invalidating several House and Senate districts on the grounds the plaintiffs either lacked standing to pursue those claims or failed to establish their alleged constitutional violations, thereby upholding the plans.

Ballot Measure Process

Kinds of Ballot Measures
Only the Virginia legislature may refer amendments to the ballot. There is no initiative or referendum process.

Source: Va. Const. art. XII, § 1.

In The News

• Supreme Court of Virginia Signs Off on New Legislative Maps, AP (12/29/21)
• Virginia Court Picks Experts to Draw Maps for Redistricting, AP (11/19/21)
• Four New Redistricting Special Master Nominees Forwarded to Virginia Supreme Court for State Redistricting, Richmond Times-Dispatch (11/18/21)
• Virginia Supreme Court Rejects Map Drawers, Virginia Mercury (11/12/21)
• Democrats Ask Virginia Supreme Court to Reject GOP Redistricting Special Master Nominees as Biased, Richmond Times-Dispatch (11/8/21)
• Six Candidates Recommended as Special Masters to Help Justices with Virginia Redistricting, Richmond Times-Dispatch (11/5/21)
• Virginia Redistricting Commission Considers Preliminary New Maps, Richmond Times-Dispatch (9/20/21)
• Va. Redistricting Commission Approves Neutrality Rule, Deadlocks on Use of Race, Virginia Mercury (9/15/21)
• Virginia Commission Scraps Regional Redistricting Maps, AP (9/13/21)
• First Redistricting Map Drafts Leave Some Lawmakers Unhappy, AP (9/2/21)
• Redistricting Commission will Scrap Virginia's Current Political Maps and Start from Scratch, Richmond Times-Dispatch (8/23/21)
• Va. Redistricting Commission Votes to Allow Use of Political Data, Reject University Map-Drawers, Virginia Mercury (8/17/21)
• Suit: Changing Prisoner Count Weakens Rural, GOP Districts, AP (8/16/21)
• Virginia Redistricting Commission Delays Deadline, Debates Map Drawers and Plans Ahead of Important Decisions, 13 News Now (8/16/21)
• Lynchburg Lawyer Fills Vacancy on Redistricting Commission, Richmond Times-Dispatch (7/19/21)
• Gilliam Steps Down from Virginia Redistricting Panel, which will Pick Replacement from Norment's List, Richmond Times-Dispatch (7/6/21)
• In Divided Vote, Va. Redistricting Commission Chooses to Hire Partisan Lawyers, Virginia Mercury (6/7/21)
• Redistricting Commission to Begin Drawing Districts by August 16, WVTF (5/24/21)
• How Virginia’s New Redistricting Commission Could Still Draw Maps that Protect Incumbents, AP (4/27/21)
• Virginia's Redistricting Commission Plans to Submit Redrawn Legislative Maps Before Nov. 2 Elections, WRIC (4/1/21)
• Bill Seeking Transparency in Redistricting Commission Killed, AP (2/19/21)
• Bill Adding more Transparency to New Redistricting Commission Advances, WVTF (2/3/21)
• Census Delays could Make the Virginia House Hold Elections in 2021, 2022 and 2023: ‘Still don’t have a Final Answer’, WRIC (1/30/21)
• Virginia Unlikely to See Major Changes in Redistricting, AP (1/22/21)
• Newly-Formed Virginia Redistricting Commission Meets for First Time, WSLS (1/22/21)
• Virginia Democrats Seek to Remove Member of State’s New Redistricting Commission as it Convenes for First Meeting, The Washington Post (1/21/21)
• Citizens Chosen for Virginia Bipartisan Redistricting Panel, AP (1/6/21)
• Legislative Leaders Name 62 Citizen Finalists for Eight Spots on Redistricting Commission, Richmond Times-Dispatch (1/2/21)
• Late Surge Pushes Citizen Applications for Redistricting Panel to 1,200; Pool Lacks State's Diversity, Richmond Times-Dispatch (12/30/20)
• More than 1,000 Citizens Apply for Redistricting Commission, WDBJ (12/29/20)
• Deadline Passes to Submit Application to Serve as 'Citizen Member' of Virginia's Redistricting Commission, WFXR (12/28/20)
• Monday is Deadline to Apply for Virginia's Redistricting Committee, WSET (12/23/20)
• Citizen Applicants for Virginia Redistricting Commission Skew White, Male, Over Age 50, Richmond Times-Dispatch (12/21/20)
• VA Political Leaders Name 8 Legislators who'll Serve on New Redistricting Commission, Virginia Mercury (12/1/20)
• House Democrats Name McQuinn and Simon to New Redistricting Commission, Richmond Times-Dispatch (11/30/20)
• Applications for Redistricting Commission Open Monday, AP (11/26/20)
• Retired Judges will Take Citizen Applications for Virginia Redistricting Commission Starting Monday, Richmond Times-Dispatch (11/25/20)
• General Assembly Approves Budget Amendments in Part, Including Redistricting Language, The Center Square (11/9/20)
• Virginia General Assembly Passes Rules for Newly Approved Redistricting Commission, Virginia Mercury (11/9/20)
• Northam Proposed Budget Amendments, Including Language to Enable Redistricting Commission, The Center Square (11/6/20)
• Virginia Voters Approve Redistricting Referendum, Richmond Times-Dispatch (11/4/20)
• New Poll: Virginia Voters Strongly Favor Redistricting Amendment, The Virginian-Pilot (10/28/20)
• Fatally Flawed or a 'Step in the right Direction'? Democrats Deeply Divided on Redistricting Reform, Virginia Mercury (10/26/20)
• Legislative Panel Votes to Include Incumbents' Addresses in 2021 Redistricting Data, Virginia Mercury (10/19/20)
• Lawmakers Intend to Remove Redistricting Language from Virginia Budget, Will Address Later, The Center Square (10/14/20)
• 'A Lot at Stake for Communities of Color': Race Takes Central Role in Redistricting Fight, Virginia Mercury (10/15/20)
• Democrats are Urging Virginia Voters to Reject Redistricting Reform they once Backed, DCist (10/9/20)
• Disputed Redistricting Reform on the Ballot in Virginia, AP (10/9/20)
• Virginia Democrats' Redistricting Fight Spills Into Special Session Budget Talks, Virginia Mercury (10/9/20)
• Democrats Divided on Bipartisan Redistricting Amendment, Chesterfield Observer (9/23/20)
• Hanger Considers Gubernatorial Run, Expresses Support for Redistricting Referendum, NBC 29 (9/21/20)
• State Senator Emmett Hanger Announces New PAC 'Virginians for a Better Tomorrow' to Support Bipartisan Redistricting, PR Newswire (9/21/20)
• Virginians to Decide Fate of Controversial Redistricting Amendment, Courthouse News (9/20/20)
• Challenge to Wording on November Ballot Dismissed, Richmond Free Press (9/10/20)
• State Says Lawsuit to Edit Ballot Question on Redistricting Referendum Could Delay Absentee Ballots, Richmond Times-Dispatch (9/1/20)
• Lawsuit Challenges Ballot Language on Redistricting Amendment, Richmond Times-Dispatch (8/28/20)
• New Virginia PAC Opposes Citizen-Led Redistricting Committee, The Tennessee Star (8/27/20)
• Redistricting Reform Petition Returns, Revitalized, O'Colly (8/20/20)
• Redistricting Fight Heats Up with Statewide Referendum Looming, Richmond Times-Dispatch (7/24/20)
• Fair Maps Virginia Campaign Aims to Get Voters to Embrace Redistricting Commission Amendment, Virginia Mercury (7/21/20)
• Senate Panel OKs Language Explaining Disputed Redistricting Amendment to Voters, Virginia Mercury (7/8/20)
• Virginia Democratic Party Urges Voters to Defeat Redistricting Reform Amendment, Virginia Mercury (6/24/20)
• Census Data Delay Will Put Virginia On Tight Redistricting Timeline, The Center Square (5/28/20)
• Virginia Ends Prison Gerrymandering, the Latest Chapter in a Recent Tidal Wave, The Appeal (4/23/20)
• Virginia Reshaped as Democrats Put Historic Stamp on Laws, AP (3/8/20)
• Virginia lawmakers approve redistricting measure, AP (3/6/20)
• Lawmakers try to alter voter-approved redistricting reforms, AP (3/5/20)
• More states to use redistricting reforms after 2020 census, AP (3/5/20)
• After delay, Virginia Democrats advance redistricting, AP (3/2/20)
• Va. House Democrats won’t bring their redistricting reform amendment to the floor, Virginia Mercury (2/19/20)
• Virginia Democrats weigh differing redistricting reforms, AP (1/14/20)
• Poll: 72% of Virginia voters support redistricting amendment, 13News Now (1/2/20)
• Virginia Democrats now have the power and responsibility to fix gerrymandering, Washington Post (1/2/20)
• We can’t assume Virginia Democrats will keep their promise on redistricting reform, Washington Post (12/31/19)