Virginia General Assembly Calls Surprise Special Session on Redistricting

The Virginia General Assembly will convene a Special Session this week to take up redistricting. This follows similar efforts in states like North Carolina, Texas, and California.

Changing the timing and process of redistricting in Virginia requires an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia. To aid in understanding mechanics and timeline of this process, the Williams Mullen Government Relations Group has put together the following outline and notes.

1. First passage of constitutional amendments: Special Session – October 2025
   1. General Assembly will take up constitutional amendment for redistricting.
   2. Amendment must be read by the Senate for three days and two days by the House of Delegates absent a supermajority vote to discharge, which will not happen here considering 51-49 and 21-19 compositions of the House and Senate. Both Chambers must pass the same exact bill language.
   3. The Lieutenant Governor does not cast tiebreaking votes for constitutional amendments, and the Governor does not sign constitutional amendments. Constitutional amendments are merely proposed and passed by each chamber of the General Assembly.
   4. The bill language will likely address a change to the Constitution in the redistricting process; a separate bill is typically passed later to propose language that will appear on the ballot explaining the amendment.
2. Election between passage of constitutional amendments: General Election – November 4, 2025
   1. The Constitution of Virginia requires that there be an election of the House of Delegates in between sessions in which the General Assembly passes the constitutional amendment.
   2. There is no requirement that there be a general election of the Senate, only a requirement for a general election of the House.
3. Second passage of constitutional amendments: Regular Session – January 14, 2026, through March 15, 2026
   1. General Assembly will likely again take up and pass a constitutional amendment for redistricting.
4. Constitutional Amendment goes before the voters, no sooner than 90 days after the final passage of both bills in the General Assembly
   1. General Assembly shall prescribe the manner of the vote and the timing of the amendment.
   2. If a majority of Virginians approve of the amendment, it shall become a part of the constitution/take effect on the date prescribed by the General Assembly.
5. Congressional Districts are redrawn – Spring 2026
6. Primary elections for new districts – Summer 2026
7. Congressional (Mid-Term) elections – November 3, 2026

The effort to redistrict in such a compressed period will almost assuredly result in litigation that could impact the timeline. The most likely legal basis for a challenge is that with nearly 1 million Virginians having already voted early, there is not an intervening general election between passage of the resolution of the General Assembly because the election is already underway. The constitutional provision regarding the amendment process was enacted prior to the existence of early voting so Virginia’s courts will be considering an issue of first impression in legal challenges. Of course, this assumes a litigant can establish standing to challenge the action of the General Assembly. Similar efforts have thus far proven unsuccessful in other states. There may also be a legal challenge based upon public notice requirements, but that remains to be seen.