Virginia voters will have their say on April 21 in the nationwide redistricting battle President Donald Trump launched last year to alter the congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
If approved by voters, after having already cleared legal and administrative hurdles, the ballot referendum would temporarily change the boundaries of the state's congressional districts. It would eliminate all but one Republican-leaning district in the Old Dominion State, changing the likely makeup of Virginia's delegation to the U.S. House of Representatives from a current six-to-five Democratic split, to as many as a 10 Democrats.
If successful, that could give Democrats an edge in the battle for control of the House, which is currently divided 217-to-213 in favor of the GOP.
Trump arm-twisted Republican-led legislatures from Texas to Missouri to redraw their own maps in order to tilt their congressional delegations further towards Republicans -- an unusual move, redistricting is typically once per decade after the Census.
The president attempted to persuade Republicans to get to the polls the night before the vote, saying that "the whole country is watching" in an April 20 tele-rally. He called Democrats "extreme" and the proposition a "shameful" attempt to "disenfranchise" Republican voters.
